Handsanitizer discussion on today's podcast

This is unrelated but I have been paranoid about pin pads lately. I stopped at 7-11 today and grabbed some crackers.
As I was entering my pin, I realized I had every intention to rip open the crackers as soon as I got back to the car. And I thought, that means whatever is on that pin pad is going right in my mouth.


I waited till I got back to the office and could wash up.


:crazy2:
I use my knuckle 🙊🙊🙊
 
The point being though i just thought it was important to note the new fda information that came out yesterday regarding purell on the news, same day our podcast mentioned also the same topic, but new information is out about it. Their claims to kill germs says the fda are not based on studies so maybe it's a fraud or not idk but just to know this. And also, side note, I try now if im in wdw to not purell/hand sanitize before eating there but go to the bathroom and wash my hands instead of purell as it's a better way to kill germs which apparently fda says they don't. so i'm changing my habits there on vacation as well.
 
I think that hand sanitisers are generally (unless otherwise tested and advertised) anti-bacterial. Anti-viral is another matter. "germs" is a bit too broad. It's not like the hand sanitiser does NOTHING, but hand washing will always be better if possible.
 
I would just caution against heavily scented wipes in shared environments—some people are extremely sensitive to fragrance and it can trigger reactions. I try to use fragrance free ones.

Thank you! I certainly never expect others to do this, but boy do I appreciate it when they do. :)


As for the topic at hand, we're hand-washers. The kids know to wash their hands as soon as we get home, particularly from school, especially in the younger grades. But we almost never use hand sanitizers. I did use them fairly often when I worked retail many moons ago. But since then we've only purchased them of the schools requested them. We do keep wet wipes on hand in the car, in picnic baskets, day bags, etc. just to wipe actually dirt, etc. off of our hands in between hand-washing if we're out and about, but that's it. None of us have any kind of immunity issues, so for the most part we are okay with your average daily amount of germs. I do understand people being extra cautious when things are going around, of course, and depending on the situation there may be times when we are more aware as well.
 


https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-qu...o-bacteria-and-viruses-live-outside-the-body/
I don't know if this makes people more or less scared, but I know my DH is a little germ-phobic (touching elevator keys with his elbow, etc.) I do believe in washing hands and cleaning around food, etc., but in my non-medical opinion...how much do you read about someone getting sick because they touched a PIN pad or elevator button? I would bet those surfaces have germs, but I would also bet that most people don't get sick from that.

That being said, I wash my hands a lot. Especially related to bathroom and eating or preparing food.

The point being though i just thought it was important to note the new fda information that came out yesterday regarding purell on the news, same day our podcast mentioned also the same topic, but new information is out about it. Their claims to kill germs says the fda are not based on studies so maybe it's a fraud or not idk but just to know this. And also, side note, I try now if im in wdw to not purell/hand sanitize before eating there but go to the bathroom and wash my hands instead of purell as it's a better way to kill germs which apparently fda says they don't. so i'm changing my habits there on vacation as well.
My DH has gone to spraying rubbing alcohol (70%) on his hands. Most people also don't wash their hands or use the hand sanitizer properly anyhow.
 
https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-qu...o-bacteria-and-viruses-live-outside-the-body/
I don't know if this makes people more or less scared, but I know my DH is a little germ-phobic (touching elevator keys with his elbow, etc.) I do believe in washing hands and cleaning around food, etc., but in my non-medical opinion...how much do you read about someone getting sick because they touched a PIN pad or elevator button? I would bet those surfaces have germs, but I would also bet that most people don't get sick from that.

That being said, I wash my hands a lot. Especially related to bathroom and eating or preparing food.


My DH has gone to spraying rubbing alcohol (70%) on his hands. Most people also don't wash their hands or use the hand sanitizer properly anyhow.
I will just say that we all will probably never be sure how a LOT of people got sick - either not reported, or since we all have to touch a LOT of stuff during the day, how do a lot of us pinpoint WHERE we got the germs from? Not being oppositional, just saying we'll probably never know. And I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I also remembered to say that a lot of times, if I'm walking with my cane (and not my Rollator), I will use that to touch/push things, if I can. I also use it to hold open elevator doors for people. Multi-purpose implement, I call it. :)
 
I hate hand sanitizer. It doesn't clean anything. I prefer wet ones wipes because you can actually get dirt/grime OFF your hands. Seems like hand sanitizer just adds another coating onto already dirty hands. Yuck.

That said, Wet Ones are clearly labeled as anti BACTERIAL. Not anti viral. As far as I know, the kinds of wipes that can claim anti viral aren't for use on skin, but rather hard surfaces (Clorox wipes and such).

Good old fashioned soap and water and vigorously scrubbing for 20 seconds is the gold standard and will continue to be the best way to avoid getting sick.
 


I am also assuming part of the extra caution expressed in this thread has to do with the cruise, and traveling in general, it would be a real bummer to spoil a trip or other special event because you are under the weather. I usually am pretty easy going but when a trip is coming up I really start to notice people coughing, and marvel how many people go out sick.

I am traveling to see family with a young baby in a little over a week. I want to ensure I am well enough to be around her so I am being extra cautious.
 
It's been known for a while now that our usage of hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial soaps were doing more harm than good because they were killing the good bacteria along with the bad which causes problems down the road for our ability to fight bad bacteria and other bad stuff. I don't use anti-bacterial soap in my house anymore and hand sanitizer is rarely used.

It's good that we're now being notified to be more cautious in regards to claims of illness prevention with respects to hand sanitizer.

Some people need to use those items because of serious illnesses but the average person would do much better by just hand washing--good 'ole fashion hand washing.

Last year a trick I learned about in terms of how long to wash with the soap is to sing your ABCs song (preferably in your head lol). The amount of time it takes for that is typically good for cleaning your hands properly.
 
I always wash my hands first thing when I get home in the kitchen using Dawn with Oil of Olay and use Aveeno cream a couple time a days. Dawn with Oil of Olay has proteins that do a fantastic job of keeping your skin and nails intact. I don't like sanitizers.

AND STOP TOUCHING YOUR FACE! These kind of pathogens do not enter through your hands or unbroken skin. They enter thru mucous membranes like eyes, nose and mouth.

We are also a family that comes in, takes off our shoes, and washes our hands before going further into the house. We do that in hotel rooms also, always wash our hands. We don't eat unless we have washed our hands. I use sanitizer when I get a cut. I had read years ago that they did a study in hospitals that showed that the ones where the doctors/nurses used sanitzer when going from room to room, instead of washing their hands, had a much greater rate of post op, infections in their patients.
The one thing that bothers me about Disney Springs is that they don't have restrooms or hand washing stations inside some of their restaurants. Blaze Pizza, deluxe burger are a couple of them. You have to leave the restaurant to go wash your hands.
 
Dh & I use gel every time after seating in a restaurant and viewing a menu.

We are grossed out by this too. But we just go and take turns going to the restroom to wash our hands after we order. I am weird and I can "feel" that my hands are dirty. Gross. But we must be doing something right, we are rarely sick and none of us has ever had the flu.
 
We are grossed out by this too. But we just go and take turns going to the restroom to wash our hands after we order. I am weird and I can "feel" that my hands are dirty. Gross. But we must be doing something right, we are rarely sick and none of us has ever had the flu.

Can't everyone feel that their hands are dirty? Although maybe not, judging by how many people think using hand sanitizer is "good enough." Ick. My mom is one of those. She carries that stupid hand sanitizer everywhere and is always trying to give me some when we go out to eat. No! Hand sanitizer doesn't take away that grimy, greasy feeling after handling a sticky, dirty menu.
 
Can't everyone feel that their hands are dirty? Although maybe not, judging by how many people think using hand sanitizer is "good enough." Ick. My mom is one of those. She carries that stupid hand sanitizer everywhere and is always trying to give me some when we go out to eat. No! Hand sanitizer doesn't take away that grimy, greasy feeling after handling a sticky, dirty menu.

I think that we may be in the minority about how we feel about dirty hands. I work in a cafe that serves cafeteria style, and the amount of people that walk in, get their food and start eating in the line, licking their fingers is crazy. They will eat and then lick their fingers and then hand over their payment with their licked, dirty fingers. Disgusting. Then they go down and keep eating and none of them have gone to the bathroom and washed their hands. And people wonder why they are always getting sick.
 
I would just caution against heavily scented wipes in shared environments—some people are extremely sensitive to fragrance and it can trigger reactions. I try to use fragrance free ones.

Thank you! As one of those people that are sensitive to fragrance I really appreciate you thinking of us :) I really wish more people would - not just in terms of scented wipes, but also heavy perfumes, cologne, etc. If I can smell someone's fragrance from a few FEET away, then they are using too much :rotfl2:.
 
The big difference for me is when washing my hands it feels like the germs are going down the drain and with sanitizer the germs are still on my hands battling the sanitizer (ETA especially under my nails).

The most effective method for small cuts on my hands is holding them under water to flush germs out. Neosporin never works as well, for me at least.
 
Last edited:
The big difference for me is when washing my hands it feels like the germs are going down the drain and with sanitizer the germs are still on my hands battling the sanitizer.

The most effective method for small cuts on my hands is holding them under water to flush germs out. Neosporin never works as well, for me at least.

Oh yeah no doubt washing does a lot more. There are tons of amateur videos out there about bacteria growth after hand washing or after hand sanitizer. Sanitizer misses A LOT.
 
The most effective method for small cuts on my hands is holding them under water to flush germs out. Neosporin never works as well, for me at least.
If you're using Neosporin you should be washing the wound first, then put it on, then idealy put a bandaid on it. It's good for keeping bacteria out but you're still needing to wash the wound first especially to get out dirt and other stuff.

Neosporian helps me personally when it comes to scarring too but it does seem to speed up the healing process as well though that is speaking personally.
 
If you're using Neosporin you should be washing the wound first, then put it on, then idealy put a bandaid on it. It's good for keeping bacteria out but you're still needing to wash the wound first especially to get out dirt and other stuff.

Neosporian helps me personally when it comes to scarring too but it does seem to speed up the healing process as well though that is speaking personally.
It probably doesn't help that I have sensitive skin so petroleum or cream bases in Neosporin end up being something else my wound has to deal with too. One time I put Neo on a scratched insect bite and it ended up giving me a dermatitis rash.

I didn't specify but I was comparing my wounds treated with a hand wash then Neo vs a handwash then holding the cut directly under running water for a minute or two.
 
I hate hand sanitizer. It doesn't clean anything. I prefer wet ones wipes because you can actually get dirt/grime OFF your hands. Seems like hand sanitizer just adds another coating onto already dirty hands. Yuck.

That said, Wet Ones are clearly labeled as anti BACTERIAL. Not anti viral. As far as I know, the kinds of wipes that can claim anti viral aren't for use on skin, but rather hard surfaces (Clorox wipes and such).

Good old fashioned soap and water and vigorously scrubbing for 20 seconds is the gold standard and will continue to be the best way to avoid getting sick.
Yep. We use antibacterial wipes a lot. We have fragrance free textured ones for surfaces too. Then we use the gel for after basic things, like door handles, and queue bars etc. Then hand washing when reasonably possible. I get that we are not the norm, but, with additional moisturiser it is what it is for us.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Latest posts


Top