5 ms·

Are people still using lots of hand sanitizer? Why?

ascorbic 6y ago
My kids have been coming back from school with the backs of their hands bleeding because they're so dry from being forced to constantly use sanitiser all day. This is because government guidelines have not been updated since it became clear that it's not transmitted by contact. We've had to tell them to use the smallest amount possible, and only on their palms.
- skinkestek 6y ago
  As far as I'm aware the only reason to use hand sanitizer is because soap (which is more effective - again AFAIK but this has been told since the start) is even more damaging do the skin when done often.
  - zo1 6y ago
    Let's not forget the incredible "convenience" factor of waterless hand sanitizer. Who needs a pesky basin, soap & running water when you can just spray this magical liquid on your hands and be done in a jiffy.
- aspaviento 6y ago
  The purpose of the sanitizer is not to prevent contagion by contact, it's for you to make sure that your hands are clean before touching your face (mouth, nose, eyes). That's how you get infected, the virus get onto your hands for whatever reason and you touch your face. So technically it's true it's not transmitted by contact directly but it does indirectly.
  - ascorbic 6y ago
    Yes, I understand that, but that's still a vanishingly rare route of transmission. The way you get infected is by inhaling aerosols.
- jakeogh 6y ago
  Really? So... where do the guardians of these children draw the line? There's no line... just say it. The "gov mandate" conditioning is so well tested through history. Kids, highest risk group for this flu virus... right? Psychologically, they are, and I think you know that.
- Tor3 6y ago
  > [..] since it became clear that it's not transmitted by contact. That'll need a reference. It's only a few weeks since a worker was infected in a one-person workshop[1], from the guy working there two days earlier. Testing showed that it was the exact same (rare) virus strain and the only explanation was that the second guy got infected from using the same tools as the first guy (not infected _through_ the hands of course, but presumably by touching his face afterwards. As one does). (Keeping surfaces clean is the most important part, otherwise you'll have to clean your hands every time you touch something. As for myself I've become very self-conscious about what I touch.) [1]https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=no&tl=en&u=https://www.nrk.no/trondelag/smittet-person-med-sorafrikansk-variant-av-korona-_-mottes-aldri-1.15434431 https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=no&tl=en&u=https:/...
  - graeme 6y ago
    Very interesting, thanks. Though it remains exceedingly rare so far as we can tell.
  - kevinmchugh 6y ago
    Assuming they did good contact tracing here and found that it really was the only way this guy was exposed, we're talking about a vanishingly rare route to infection. The article calls it one in a million infections. I think it might be rarer than that.
  - ascorbic 6y ago
    Sure. When I said "not transmitted by contact" I should have said "rarely transmitted by contact". It has become clear that the overwhelming majority of transmisson is through aerosols indoors. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-r... https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00251-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00251-4
adamhp 6y ago
I like the way it makes my hands smell.
gentryb 6y ago
Some are - at least most doing COVID Vaccination administration are people that I can personally say are using "lots" of hand sanitizer each day. (yes, my hands still hurt)
joegahona 6y ago
No, not really. That died out rather quickly, as did singling “Happy Birthday” while washing one’s hands.
KMag 6y ago
> Are people still using lots of hand sanitizer? Why? We're still using lots of hand sanitizer here, because the combination of masks, social distancing, and hand sanitizer seems to work. Though, we could be mistaken about the relative effectiveness/necessity of the three measures. My office building has hand sanitizer dispensers in the entryway. Yes, it's primarily a respiratory virus, but the cost of hand sanitization is pretty low and the virus remains infectious on most surfaces for several hours. Here in Hong Kong, we're one of the most dense cities on Earth, with a lot of public transit use, so surface contamination may be more of an issue here than in other places.
- kevinmchugh 6y ago
  Businesses stock sanitizer because it's cheap and compatible with the status quo ante, not because there's any reason to believe it's effective.
  - bluGill 6y ago
    Sanitizer is for more than just covid. We were washing hands long before covid, and I hope it continues

My kids have been coming back from school with the backs of their hands bleeding because they're so dry from being forced to constantly use sanitiser all day. This is because government guidelines have not been updated since it became clear that it's not transmitted by contact. We've had to tell them to use the smallest amount possible, and only on their palms.

skinkestek 6y ago
As far as I'm aware the only reason to use hand sanitizer is because soap (which is more effective - again AFAIK but this has been told since the start) is even more damaging do the skin when done often.
- zo1 6y ago
  Let's not forget the incredible "convenience" factor of waterless hand sanitizer. Who needs a pesky basin, soap & running water when you can just spray this magical liquid on your hands and be done in a jiffy.
aspaviento 6y ago
The purpose of the sanitizer is not to prevent contagion by contact, it's for you to make sure that your hands are clean before touching your face (mouth, nose, eyes). That's how you get infected, the virus get onto your hands for whatever reason and you touch your face. So technically it's true it's not transmitted by contact directly but it does indirectly.
- ascorbic 6y ago
  Yes, I understand that, but that's still a vanishingly rare route of transmission. The way you get infected is by inhaling aerosols.
jakeogh 6y ago
Really? So... where do the guardians of these children draw the line? There's no line... just say it. The "gov mandate" conditioning is so well tested through history. Kids, highest risk group for this flu virus... right? Psychologically, they are, and I think you know that.
Tor3 6y ago
> [..] since it became clear that it's not transmitted by contact. That'll need a reference. It's only a few weeks since a worker was infected in a one-person workshop[1], from the guy working there two days earlier. Testing showed that it was the exact same (rare) virus strain and the only explanation was that the second guy got infected from using the same tools as the first guy (not infected _through_ the hands of course, but presumably by touching his face afterwards. As one does). (Keeping surfaces clean is the most important part, otherwise you'll have to clean your hands every time you touch something. As for myself I've become very self-conscious about what I touch.) [1]https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=no&tl=en&u=https://www.nrk.no/trondelag/smittet-person-med-sorafrikansk-variant-av-korona-_-mottes-aldri-1.15434431 https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=no&tl=en&u=https:/...
- graeme 6y ago
  Very interesting, thanks. Though it remains exceedingly rare so far as we can tell.
- kevinmchugh 6y ago
  Assuming they did good contact tracing here and found that it really was the only way this guy was exposed, we're talking about a vanishingly rare route to infection. The article calls it one in a million infections. I think it might be rarer than that.
- ascorbic 6y ago
  Sure. When I said "not transmitted by contact" I should have said "rarely transmitted by contact". It has become clear that the overwhelming majority of transmisson is through aerosols indoors. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-r... https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00251-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00251-4

adamhp 6y ago

I like the way it makes my hands smell.

gentryb 6y ago

Some are - at least most doing COVID Vaccination administration are people that I can personally say are using "lots" of hand sanitizer each day. (yes, my hands still hurt)

joegahona 6y ago

No, not really. That died out rather quickly, as did singling “Happy Birthday” while washing one’s hands.

KMag 6y ago

> Are people still using lots of hand sanitizer? Why? We're still using lots of hand sanitizer here, because the combination of masks, social distancing, and hand sanitizer seems to work. Though, we could be mistaken about the relative effectiveness/necessity of the three measures. My office building has hand sanitizer dispensers in the entryway. Yes, it's primarily a respiratory virus, but the cost of hand sanitization is pretty low and the virus remains infectious on most surfaces for several hours. Here in Hong Kong, we're one of the most dense cities on Earth, with a lot of public transit use, so surface contamination may be more of an issue here than in other places.

kevinmchugh 6y ago
Businesses stock sanitizer because it's cheap and compatible with the status quo ante, not because there's any reason to believe it's effective.
- bluGill 6y ago
  Sanitizer is for more than just covid. We were washing hands long before covid, and I hope it continues