4 ms·

I also think that these kind of gels give a false sense of security, I have anywhere up to four different carers coming through this house on any given day usin

I also think that these kind of gels give a false sense of security, I have anywhere up to four different carers coming through this house on any given day using the stuff. And they do something that might be slightly medical in nature, then it's a quick squirt of the gel and hey presto no more tiny stinky biting things! But that is absolutely NOT how they work, these gels are generally designed to be used AFTER washing your hands and only work if you rub them in for up to 30 seconds. But I would be surprised if many people knew that, *II only knew that because - and this is going to sound like total hyperbole - my life literally depends upon people washing their hands. I think it's really interesting that when doctors, nurses or any other medical professionals come through they always wash your hands but carers always seem to rely on the magic gel. People need education as well as these tools, not instead of. /Rant

RankingMember 12y ago
I don't like the gel anyways, it feels gross and sticky. It'd be nice if you could use UV to "wash" your hands with these things.
- JoeAltmaier 12y ago
  That would be very cool. Could do it every time, instead of only when the operator remembers to.
  - escapologybb 12y ago
    I think it would be a great idea to do that, as well as somehow showing up how many germs are left on your hands. Sort of like when you throw white paint around at a rave and everybody has got their hands in the air, glowing white skin and…
    - DanBC 12y ago
      There are handwashing demonstration soaps that include an ingredient that fluoresces under UV light. You wash your hands normally using the soap then a UV light shows you how bad you are at washin your hands.
- natch 12y ago
  I've found only the off-brand ones feel sticky. The feel varies a lot from brand to brand.
- skue 12y ago
  UV sterilization works by disrupting the DNA of pathogens -- which is exactly the same mechanism that causes skin cancer. So I don't see this product arriving anytime soon.
skue 12y ago
Can you provide references? That may be true of your basic drugstore Purell, which just contains ethyl alcohol. But the literature does indicate that hospital-grade hand sanitizers (a blend of alcohols, and/or a non-alcohol equivalent) are far superior and immediately effective against most organisms. See for example, http://cmr.asm.org/content/17/4/863.short http://cmr.asm.org/content/17/4/863.short
- DanBC 12y ago
  Hand washing should be done with runnin water and soap when possible. If you don't hav running water and soap you cannise handgels, but they don't kill everything. Alcoholgels don't kill c.diff. Alcohol gels only work on hands that are clean. You need to be careful with the soap you chose because hands can be "too clean" - some soaps are harsh on the skin and cause conditions suitable for bugs. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Clostridium-difficile/Pages/Prevention.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Clostridium-difficile/Pages/Pre... http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sanitizer.html http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sani...
  - acallaghan 12y ago
    Yeah this is correct for Noroviruses as well - good old soap and water is the most effective against Norovirus, more so than alcohol and disinfectant gels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus#Prevention http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus#Prevention My wife works as a paediatric doctor in the NHS, and has told me that the regular use of alcohol gels leaves a slimy residue after 2 or 3 uses, prompting her to properly wash her hands (as well as wearing new gloves for every patient, obviously).
- escapologybb 12y ago
  No problem, from the CDC[0] report entitled "Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings"[1] From that reference it says, we have: "Alcohols are not appropriate for use when hands are visibly dirty or contaminated with proteinaceous materials." "Alcohols are rapidly germicidal when applied to the skin, but they have no appreciable persistent (i.e., residual) activity." "Despite its effectiveness against these organisms, alcohols have very poor activity against bacterial spores, protozoan oocysts, and certain nonenveloped (nonlipophilic) viruses. Similarly, certain accepted methods for evaluating waterless antiseptic agents for use as antiseptic hand rubs require that 3 mL of alcohol be rubbed into the hands for 30 seconds, followed by a repeat application for the same duration. This type of protocol also does not reflect actual usage patterns among HCWs." The alcohol gels are good, but I think they're not a cureall was my point. [0]:http://www.cdc.gov/ http://www.cdc.gov/ [1]:http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5116a1.htm http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5116a1.htm
rip747 12y ago
there are so many articles and studies out there suggesting that we are over sanitizing ourselves. Gels and hand washing are one things, but how about actually wearing gloves and changing them when you are about to touch a patient?

RankingMember 12y ago

I don't like the gel anyways, it feels gross and sticky. It'd be nice if you could use UV to "wash" your hands with these things.

JoeAltmaier 12y ago
That would be very cool. Could do it every time, instead of only when the operator remembers to.
- escapologybb 12y ago
  I think it would be a great idea to do that, as well as somehow showing up how many germs are left on your hands. Sort of like when you throw white paint around at a rave and everybody has got their hands in the air, glowing white skin and…
  - DanBC 12y ago
    There are handwashing demonstration soaps that include an ingredient that fluoresces under UV light. You wash your hands normally using the soap then a UV light shows you how bad you are at washin your hands.
natch 12y ago
I've found only the off-brand ones feel sticky. The feel varies a lot from brand to brand.
skue 12y ago
UV sterilization works by disrupting the DNA of pathogens -- which is exactly the same mechanism that causes skin cancer. So I don't see this product arriving anytime soon.

skue 12y ago

Can you provide references? That may be true of your basic drugstore Purell, which just contains ethyl alcohol. But the literature does indicate that hospital-grade hand sanitizers (a blend of alcohols, and/or a non-alcohol equivalent) are far superior and immediately effective against most organisms. See for example, http://cmr.asm.org/content/17/4/863.short http://cmr.asm.org/content/17/4/863.short

DanBC 12y ago
Hand washing should be done with runnin water and soap when possible. If you don't hav running water and soap you cannise handgels, but they don't kill everything. Alcoholgels don't kill c.diff. Alcohol gels only work on hands that are clean. You need to be careful with the soap you chose because hands can be "too clean" - some soaps are harsh on the skin and cause conditions suitable for bugs. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Clostridium-difficile/Pages/Prevention.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Clostridium-difficile/Pages/Pre... http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sanitizer.html http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sani...
- acallaghan 12y ago
  Yeah this is correct for Noroviruses as well - good old soap and water is the most effective against Norovirus, more so than alcohol and disinfectant gels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus#Prevention http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus#Prevention My wife works as a paediatric doctor in the NHS, and has told me that the regular use of alcohol gels leaves a slimy residue after 2 or 3 uses, prompting her to properly wash her hands (as well as wearing new gloves for every patient, obviously).
escapologybb 12y ago
No problem, from the CDC[0] report entitled "Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings"[1] From that reference it says, we have: "Alcohols are not appropriate for use when hands are visibly dirty or contaminated with proteinaceous materials." "Alcohols are rapidly germicidal when applied to the skin, but they have no appreciable persistent (i.e., residual) activity." "Despite its effectiveness against these organisms, alcohols have very poor activity against bacterial spores, protozoan oocysts, and certain nonenveloped (nonlipophilic) viruses. Similarly, certain accepted methods for evaluating waterless antiseptic agents for use as antiseptic hand rubs require that 3 mL of alcohol be rubbed into the hands for 30 seconds, followed by a repeat application for the same duration. This type of protocol also does not reflect actual usage patterns among HCWs." The alcohol gels are good, but I think they're not a cureall was my point. [0]:http://www.cdc.gov/ http://www.cdc.gov/ [1]:http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5116a1.htm http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5116a1.htm

rip747 12y ago

there are so many articles and studies out there suggesting that we are over sanitizing ourselves. Gels and hand washing are one things, but how about actually wearing gloves and changing them when you are about to touch a patient?