Seems like the latest don’t-leave-home-without-it is a hand sanitizer. And yes, it’s got a lot to do with fear of contracting the H1N1 virus, which, according to James Scott, a microbiologist and associate professor at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, “unlike most other influenza viruses, likely has some amount of contact transmission.”
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), as long as the formula is at least 60 per cent ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol), your hand sanitizer can be an effective back-up in battling germ nasties. “Soap and water is best because it washes away the material that holds the virus,” Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. David Butler Jones told me during a recent press conference. But he agrees that when soap and water isn’t available, sanitizers can help.
But you don’t have to settle for stuff that smells all-alcohol all the time. Bath & Body Works offers 60-per-cent ethanol anti-bacterial gel cleansers in scents such as Sea Island Cotton and Warm Vanilla Sugar (29 mL, $2 CAN). Shoppers Drug Mart’s Life Brand (60 mL, $1.49 CAN) and One Step (60 mL, $1.49 CAN) both offer 62 per-cent ethyl alcohol sanitizers in an array of light fruity fragrances. (One Step also has an Extra-Strength formula — 473 mL, $6.99 — with a 70 per-cent alcohol content.)
If you’re thinking biodegradeable, Fruits & Passion’s Waterless Soap (60 mL, $5 CAN) is 67.5 per-cent plant-derived alcohol, and a company called EO offers sanitizers (60 mL, from $4.69 CAN) that are 62 per-cent certified-organic ethanol and contain organic essential oils as well as organic jojoba oil to keep hands soft.
Cleansing Tips
• Make sure hands are free of visible dirt.
• Use enough to wet both hands thoroughly, directs the Public Health Agency of Canada. Rub into palms, backs of hands, between fingers and under fingernails.
• In general, to reduce your risk of getting sick, “keep hands away from eyes, nose and mouth,” Dr. David Butler Jones told me.
• Don’t worry about becoming “sanitizer dependant.” Microbiologist James Scott says he’s not aware of any evidence that suggests their use lowers the body’s ability to combat bacteria on its own.
Bath & Body Works, bathandbodyworks.com; Life Brand, Shoppers Drug Mart;One Step, drugstores, grocery stores and mass retailers; Fruits and Passion, fruits-passion.com; EO, well.ca, Pistachio, The Big Carrot.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Good story. Tell the world. Tell all those germ-laden horrible people on the subway. (Maybe we could print copies of this and leave it in the Metro. Wait – why not put it in a paper called Metro! That’s it.)
Er… I did put it in Metro. Today’s Metro as a matter of fact. *grin* Staff just couldn’t be bothered to add the “a version of this story appears in today’s Metro” bit. Like she thinks it’s her holiday vacation time already or something. Sheesh.
Thanks, lady :-)
I use that Bath & Body works santizer & it smells divine! I actually use it as soap as it lathers nicely. Lots of germs on flights have to stay healthy:) Happy Holidays!
I haven’t tried that the B&BW yet — lots of people love the line, though. Many tweet-backs about it when I put a call out to see what people liked. I wanna try the Sea Island scent, natch. Others love the Warm Vanilla Sugar. I did just buy the EO lemon sanitizer. Less lemony than I’d like, but my hands certainly feel soft after I use it. And EO’s on sale at The Big Carrot right now!
I like the B&BW too, especially the Sea Island Cotton, but don’t use them before you eat or your food smells like Sea Island Cotton. White Citrus is a nice light scent.
Oooh, White Citrus is right up my fragrance preference alley, Val! Thanks for the before-eats tip — might turn it around for use as an appetite suppressant. *grin*
There are new hand sanitizers that kill 3 times the germs, work up to 30 minutes, and they are safer for kids than the ones that contain alcohol.
Thanks for the tip Michael. But my research showed the most effective formulas are 60 to 80 per cent alcohol. Do you have any studies on the effectiveness on alcohol-free types that you can send me to read?
I’m also compelled to point out that in comparison to the 99.99 per-cent kill rate of alcohol-based sanitizers, 99.999 per cent isn’t much of a difference even if it is three times more.
Hi Janine,
My kids like Prairie Naturals Germ-Force, made with grain alcohol and aloe vera. It has a faint green apple scent . I think it’s available at most health food stores. We buy ours at Peaches and Green on Bayview Ave.
Yum, green apple! Prairie Naturals Germ-Force? I’ll watch for it; thanks for the tip!