Purell Hand Sanitizer is one important step in preventing disease. One of the major means to prevent disease, especially in children, is good hygiene. Soap and water remains the best element in hygiene but when it is not feasible or available, this product is the next best thing in preventing pathogen transmission and the resulting illnesses that can occur.
Not all sanitizers are made equally. Not all are as safe as another. Purell Hand Sanitizer has alcohol as it active ingredient. Other sanitizers have antibacterial products as the active ingredient. You may wonder what the difference is between the two ingredients. They are very different. Both ingredients serve the purpose of killing the majority of germs but they work in very different ways, ways that are important.
The sanitizers with antibacterial ingredients have a negative side. These ingredients kill the germs but they don't kill all the germs. No product does. With repeated use, the germs that survive develop a resistance to these antibacterial products. This means that when an antibiotic is needed to fight a systemic or localized skin infection caused by these resistant bacteria, they won't be effective due to the resistance that the bacteria have built up. Alcohol based products don't have this negative side effect as they use only alcohol as their active ingredient.
There is a health hazard sheet published on all chemical products. OSHA, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, requires companies to reveal potential hazards. This is a strictly regulated document. This document, MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), is aimed primarily at the worker handling these products but is also beneficial to consumers. The sheet for Purell Hand Sanitizer shows almost no safety cautions, making it a safe alternative to soap and water cleanliness.
A summary of the MSDS areas of concern for this product show very little to be of concern. One area is flammability. The areas are rated on a scale of 0-4 plus N for no information and an asterisk (*) for chronic health hazard. Minimal is 0, 1 is slight, 2 is moderate, 3 is serious, and 4 is severe. The only areas of concern for this product were 1 for health risk and 3 for flammability. Explanation of health risk includes stomach upset if ingested (a nonstandard route) and eye irritation (cautioned to not rub eyes). The overall health rating indicated as safe, presenting no immediate or long term health hazard.
The most common cause of infections by bacteria, viruses, and fungi is their transmission through the mouth, nose, and conjunctiva of the eyes. Since the hands frequently come into contact with these portals, and since the hands come in contact with so many areas where pathogens are residing, it is safe to assume that keeping hands relatively germ free is a great preventative.
Though no product is allowed to claim to destroy pathogens causing any particular illness such as swine flu and MRSA, since the pathogens for these illnesses are passed on the hands, it can be safely assumed that keeping hands clean will help lessen these diseases. You may wonder about how this product affects the residential bacteria (usually called good bacteria). The impact on them is not so bad as to offset the benefits of clean hands. Any residential bacteria are quickly replaced by the body.
You can see how Purell Hand Sanitizer can be a health benefit in preventing hand transmitted illnesses. Its low incidence of hazard, especially when used as directed, make it virtually caution free. This alcohol based product is far superior to the antibacterial ones so far as health cautions are concerned. In helping to avoid bacteria transmission, it is a convenient choice, especially when soap and water are not a feasible choice.
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