I've always considered myself a clean freak! I've always been a make-my-bed-daily-don't-like-any-clutter-do-the-dishes-after-every-meal-wipe-down-the-kitchen-counters-often-clean-out-my-closets-every-spring-and-fall kind of gal! Singing the "Happy Birthday" song while washing my hands 3 or 4 times a day wasn't unusual, either. But I never really used hand sanitizer...until now. Since the day we finally took Chloe home from the NICU, there has been a bottle of hand sanitizer in every room of the house! I'm the Mom that asks visitors to grab a few squirts before seeing Chloe. I'm the daughter/sister/niece/cousin that makes my family members change their clothes and shower after getting off the plane before seeing Chloe. I'm the annoying shopper in the check out line at the grocery store that noticed the cashier sneezing and blowing her nose, so I moved all of my laid out groceries to a different lane. I've gotten my fair share of "eye-rolling" and "smirks" but at the end of the day, I know I do my best to keep Chloe healthy. A friend once asked me if I thought hand sanitizer REALLY makes a difference. I think so. Does it also give me peace of mind? Absolutely.
Here is a short story done on hand sanitzer by NBC on 09/23/2009 -
Spend some time with toddlers and you'll notice their little hands are everywhere, touching, tapping and grabbing. To fight the spread of germs, many parents are armed with hand sanitizer. The liquid gel has become a staple for a lot of moms and dads.
With concerns about swine flu, or H1N1 virus, using hand sanitizer has become even more popular. Bottles of the alcohol-based formula are almost everywhere, from offices to college campuses, but does it really work?
Doctors say it does.
"I would say people should use it several times a day, three or four times a day," said Dr. Paul Sehdev with Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
Experts on infectious disease suggest that most hand sanitize kill 99 percent of bacteria, if used correctly.
"Typically, it takes at least two full squirts, and you want to rub it in all over your hands, up under your finger nails if possible, and you want to keep rubbing it until your hands are completely dry," Sehdev explained.
Doctors add there's no risk of overuse.
"It is not dangerous to you, it is not toxic to you, it can be drying to your hands, but probably less drying than soap to be honest," says Sehdev, "It is not likely that bacteria are going to be resistant to it, because it is such a high concentration of alcohol."
Experts say as long as the alcohol content is above 60 percent, it will work at killing swine flu and other nasty bugs.
They add that hand sanitizer should be used along with regular hand washing. A little soap and water goes a long way toward preventing the spread of germs.
This was a great post! I too am a germ freak and have odd requests for our family members during the cold/flu season...who am I kidding it's an all year round request.
ReplyDeleteWhatever we have to do to keep our little ones out of the hospital I am ALL for!
I will join the ranks of germaphobes (for a reason of course... when you have a "sick kid" you don't have a choice). I have sent my oldest son's teacher into fits after I came in and clean his desk, school supplies, etc when he brought home some viral funk the third week of school. She asked "You aren't going to do this EVERY week are you?" I said... yup... sure am! As long as people are sick in the classroom I will!
ReplyDeleteWhen my son comes home from school he sheds his shoes on the landing, throws his clothes down to the laundry, goes STRAIGHT up the stairs to wash his hands and shower. Since we started that routine... imagine that... no more sickness!
I HAVE noticed though, that even with hand sanitizer, if you use it several times and THEN wash your hands... you will see black krud come off and you can FEEL a film. I try to keep my sanitizer to washed hands ratio at 2/3 ... sanitize twice, wash the third...