Harmful Effects of Hand Sanitizers

I am sure that, if I were to ask you now, you would tell me that you have at least one hand sanitizer around you: in your purse or bag, in an easy-to-reach spot in your house, in your car, at the office and, basically, in every place where you might feel the need to clean your hands simply and fast. And why wouldn’t you? For such a long time, everyone told us that dirty hands are one of the main causes for many serious health conditions, so having a hand sanitizer that can keep us away from this danger is almost common sense.

However, researchers came with a new theory that can make us consider again everything we knew about hygiene and personal care products in general. Various recent studies show that the common hand sanitizers on today’s market could do more harm than good.

Unknown Dangers of Hand Sanitizers

• Most of the hand sanitizers that are now on the market contain parabens and phthalates, which are known to have the power to cause an imbalance in our endocrine system. Among the most frequent effects of this hormonal imbalance are premature start of puberty, weight problems, acne and other skin problems and even cancer.
• Sanitizers are considered to help the formation and proliferation of super-bugs or bacteria that are resistant to drugs or such products like the sanitizer. Thus, we can observe an adverse effect that not only reverses the normal activity of the sanitizer, but also harms us (as human beings) and the ecosystem in general.
• Many hand sanitizers have triclosan in their ingredient list. This element is known to favor the absorption of BPA (bisphenol A) by our body. This compound is extremely dangerous for our normal hormonal level, having the power to interfere with the regular functioning of the endocrines. Triclosan can affect our immune system and make our organism resistant to certain drugs (antibiotics being the most common ones).
• Most hand sanitizers contain about 65% ethyl alcohol. While this can be essential to kill bacteria, alcohol has negative effects as well. The first one would be the fact that it affects the skin in such a way that it makes it absorb even easier the toxic chemical compounds. Not only that our skin will be drier, but the toxins will remain in our organism. Also, hand sanitizers have been, in multiple cases, the cause of alcohol intoxication in children (who have licked their hands after using sanitizer).
• It can cause various allergies. Apparently, whether it contains alcohol or not, the hand sanitizer still finds a way to affect us. In this case, triclosan-based sanitizers have been linked to various allergies and skin irritations that appeared multiple times in children who used them frequently.

In fact, it is easy to understand why everything that affects microbes affects us as well and what affects us affects the ecosystem at the same time. Everything is a never-ending circle that we must treat with the greatest care. For this reason, even a product as helpful as the common hand sanitizer should be studied carefully before being used. And, as in the case of many products that are today on the market, we can always try to use the homemade alternative that contains only natural and completely safe ingredients.