The impact that the pandemic had has been devastating. The brunt has been taken by all. All the industries have faced losses the major concern has been the suffering of the people due to the life-threatening effects. To combat the three crucial safety measures have been propagated to overcome the situation.
The measures included social distancing, hygiene mainly thorough hand wash, and face mask. Hand sanitization has been since then playing a key role in fighting the virus. It became easy to find a hand sanitizer distributor as many of them plunged into action to provide high-quality hand sanitizers.
Although it has been a widely used product, sanitizers have been known to be harmful to the skin and sometimes posed lethal complications. As per the recommendation by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the primary active elements ethyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol are required in the hand sanitizer.
Also, the percentage of them must not be lesser than 60. Thus it is a must to have the minimum levels of alcohol to kill the virus. Some of the hand sanitizers however used low levels of alcohol which proved to have adverse effects. The alcohol reacts with methanol and/or 1-propanol in both scenarios the result is toxin generation.
About the ingredients:
Hand sanitizers that are contaminated with Methanol have shown hazardous impacts like blindness and death after ingestion. Methanol is a toxic ingredient that can be absorbed by the skin and can be ingested as well.
The other ingredient 1-propanol is not clinically approved to be added to the hand sanitizers. Even this is a harmful ingredient that can have a negative impact on the central nervous system; it can slow down the heartbeat and also have adverse effects on breathing. There are very less chances of ingestion by adults however children must be supervised while using the sanitizers.
Some of the concerns raised by the medical professionals are the fragrance, Triclosan, or ingredients that cause a fire risk. The fragrance is known to be one of the harmful allergens present in the sanitizers. The fragrances are made of combinations of chemicals and they are highly dangerous and can also cause asthma. With the same regard hand sanitizers with fragrance normally contain phthalates (either Di (2‑ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) or Diethyl phthalate (DEP)) and they pose health complications like asthma and birth defects.
Another consequence of alcohol-based sanitizer is combustion. Due to fast rubbing of hands after applying the sanitizers or using electric equipment have resulted in burns.
Find below different types of hand sanitizers in a comparison of effectively killing the germs.
As there have been many concerns related to alcohol-based sanitizers, a comprehensive list of ingredients that are associated to be used for specific germs helps to choose the hand sanitizers based on the need.
ALCOHOL
The hand sanitizers that have alcohol act on gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, different types of fungi, and all lipophilic viruses (influenza vaccinia, herpes HIV, and coronavirus). However, for no lipid virus, it will not show any effect. Poliovirus or hepatitis-A virus also can’t be killed with alcohol. With the combination of ethyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol; where 70% alcohol is present the solution kills common pathogenic bacteria and not bacterial spores.
POVIDONE-IODINE
It is an antiseptic solution that kills many types of germs gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, yeast, HIV and hepatitis B virus and protozoa etc. due to the free iodine it is an effective antimicrobial solution.
HYPOCHLOROUS ACID
With a disinfecting ability, the body produces a natural molecule with white blood cells this Hypochlorous acid is antifungal and antibacterial. It kills the structural proteins on microorganisms.
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
Hydrogen peroxide kills yeast, bacteria, spores, and fungi. It destroys the proteins and cell membranes that kill the microorganisms with the hydroxyl free radicals production.
To sum up
The emergence of the novel coronavirus pushed the people to largely trust and depend on hand sanitizers. With the hope that the hand sanitizers kill the Covid-19 virus people use it in large amounts and very often. However, it cannot work as the soap and water do. Washing hands is the best solution to kill all the germs.
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