Hand sanitizer of little help preventing colds, flu

[Bragi]

"Using alcohol-based hand sanitizer doesn’t significantly decrease how often someone is infected with a cold or flu, a University of Virginia study has found."

See http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2010/sep/12/uva-study-hand-sanitizer-little-help-preventing-co-ar-502041/

So wasn't that one of the major bits of advice from public health people last year during the swine flu?

Also, I commend the Dial soap people for funding research that shows that their product doesn't work.

[Sal Minella]

1. Heck. Something else to stash under the bed with the plastic sheeting

and duct tape and the box with my short white gloves and neckscarves and cinchbelts.

[pipi_k]

2. I don't know if it does or doesn't, but...

when I'm out and about and can't wash my hands, I do use it, always being careful NOT to put my hands near my eyes or nose because hand sanitizers don't generally get under the fingernails where (I suspect) lots of germs still remain.

When I get home, one of the first things I do is give my hands a good washing with soap and water...even in the summertime.

Doing that, plus not using money (credit or debit card instead) has helped me stay relatively cold-free for the past few years.

Oh, and I also do my raw garlic routine during the winter. Mr Pip absolutely hates it....

P.U.

hahahahha

:7

[OrangeGrapes]

8. handling germs improves you immune system

it's like lifting weights, the more you do it, the better you get. So, the more germs you immune system comes in contact with, the stronger it will be. Sometimes I drop food on the floor; yes, I eat it without washing it. I like those Häagen-Dazs bars from Costco, and so do my dogs; I share with them whenever I have one. The last health issue I had was a flu in the spring of 2007. Trying to shelter oneself from germs, I think, is a poor idea.

[Deep13]

3. What's the source of that quote? nt

[Bragi]

5. Oops. Now added /nt

[gmoney]

4. link?

I find that hard to believe... someone sick wipes their nose on their hand, pushes their shopping cart around, and then I grab their cart and bring my hands near my mouth, eyes, nose... if I take the step of cleaning the cart handle first, that doesn't help keep me from getting their illness?

[Cant trust em]

6. Great, because I hate using that crap anyway. nt

[Warpy]

7. It does more to bacteria than it does to viruses

and has cut the transmission of some pretty nasty bugs in hospitals.

Frequent handwashing is the best thing you can do to avoid colds and the flu, and that means with soap, water, and friction. Learning to scratch your nose with the back of your wrist instead of your super contaminated fingers will help, too.

[Bragi]

9. Agree re: bacterial infection, but...

Is there evidence showing that hand washing does much of anything to ward off the flu or colds?

Just wondering.

[Warpy]

10. Most colds are trasmitted hand to nose or mouth

when we touch contaminated surfaces and then scratch anything near a mucus membrane. Handwashing with soap and friction dislodges the virus particles stuck to the oil on our skin and sends them down the drain.

So yes, if you don't want to catch everything, wash your hands. However, if you live with germy little kids, forget it, you'll catch everything no matter how clean you try to keep the place.