Hand Sanitizers - Are Hand Sanitizers bad for your skin?
Are Hand Sanitizers bad for your
skin?
Hand sanitizer is an increasingly
popular product in the market because of its convenience. But only a few people
know about the harmful effects of health products when overused.
Hand sanitizers is a spray or gel
hand sanitizer. You just need to use one or two bumps and apply evenly 30
seconds without rinsing with water. But if you overdo it, it can lead to aging,
dryness, allergies, and bacteria growth.
To avoid harm and disadvantage
when using this product, you should understand the harm and the steps to use
the product properly below.
Harms of hand sanitizers
If you use hand sanitizer in large doses or use repeatedly, you will encounter the following harms.
1. Dehydrate your skin
Most dry hand cleaners contain alcohol to cleanse the skin. These components usually contain disinfectants, isopropyl, ethanol and n-propanol. The acidity in these substances is strong, so they can cause contact dermatitis to be even more dangerous than dehydration.
You need to be very careful about
choosing a dry hand wash to avoid drying your skin . You should only use
low-alcohol solutions to minimize dryness and cracking.
2. Cause skin aging
Typically, all of the drying
effects can lead to the appearance of wrinkles, cracks and peeling, causing
your skin to lose its softness. Moreover, the alcohol in hand sanitizers also
damages the skin cells, leading to a reduction in the ability of the hands to
protect themselves and even aging faster than the face.
If you want to prevent skin aging,
wear a wet (baby safe) tissue in your bag and use as needed instead of using
dry hand wash. The secret to using wet paper towels for cleaning can help
protect your soft hands.
3. Reproduce many bacteria
Many hand sanitizers today are
made with the antibacterial triclosan – a powerful bactericide. However, when
you use a dry hand wash solution, it will accidentally increase the resistance
of bacteria to make them grow more and more. This is considered an antibiotic
resistance situation when using dry handwashing water.
Unless you are out of the house,
use soap and wash your hands properly. The habit of washing your hands properly
with soap will help you completely eliminate bacteria on your hands and avoid
illnesses such as flu, hand, foot and mouth, helminths, skin infections or
diarrhea
4. Immunodeficiency
Initially, when you apply a dry
hand wash with a moderate amount, you will feel the cleanness and the ability
to kill bacteria of the solution to your skin after each meal. However, your
immune system may be weakened in the case that you use dry hand wash too much
every day. In particular, the environment of hand washing water is too clean,
which weakens the natural immunity, the defense mechanism from which fades over
time.
During the process of using hand
sanitizer, you should estimate and pour a moderate amount of liquid on hand to
kill bacteria right away. If you don’t want the natural immune system to weaken
too much, you should replace this solution with moisturizer on your hands to
protect your body from time to time.
5. Cause skin allergies
Most dry handwash products contain lots of harmful chemicals, which can cause an unpleasant odor and irritation on the skin of the hands. To create a fragrance for liquid products, manufacturers also use artificial scents containing phthalates and paraben preservatives. While the fragrance may sound appealing, the risk from the scent can be as toxic as cigarettes . These artificial fragrances and fragrances directly affect your health causing hormonal disorders in the body.
If you have irritated skin, dry
your hands with a cloth or paper towel. During long trips, you can carefully
prepare a cloth or tissue so you can wipe your hands when needed.
Dry hand sanitizer is only a last
resort when you cannot use products that are safe for your skin. When choosing
a dry solution to wash your hands, you should prioritize reputable, odorless
and alcohol-free organic products. Medical hand sanitizer is a suggestion that
you can choose to minimize the risk of damage to the skin.
Although dry hand sanitizer is
very convenient, there are potential health risks if you use it in the wrong
way. Therefore, you should be cautious about using dry hand sanitizer to keep
your body healthy.
How to use hand sanitizer
To effectively and safely kill germs on your hands, you should still wash your hands the traditional way with soap and water according to the recommended medical standards to prevent bacteria. However, if you want to use a dry hand sanitizer in force majeure circumstances, you should take note of the following steps to avoid the harm of the product.
- When applying dry hand gel, be sure to completely remove all organic substances such as dirt and grease from your hands using a damp, soft, paper towel.
- Then, pour a sufficient amount of a coin-sized solution into the palm. You should not be attracted to the fragrance of hand sanitizer, but use too much to not endanger your hands.
- Next, rub your hands together, covering all surfaces of both hands and then alternating between your fingers and your fingertips. You continue to rub your hands for 30 seconds to help your hands completely absorb the product and dry disinfectant.
- You should not touch food or anything until your hands are completely dry.
Dry hand sanitizer is a product that many consumers choose because of the convenience of going on a picnic or traveling away. However, dry hand washing water is not an absolute way to clean it, so use it only when away from water to ensure it does not directly affect your health. To minimize the risks of dry hand sanitizer, you should also avoid overusing this product too many times.