Hand Sanitizer: We’re Doing It Wrong
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You’d think that by now we’d all have a pretty good handle on hand sanitizer. After all, it has been over four months since we went into pandemic mode. But, according to some experts, a lot of us are doing it wrong.
The Huffington Post shared some common hand sanitizer mistakes to avoid:
- We’re not using enough. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention says you need to use enough to cover all surfaces of your hands. Basically, you should be squirting it out until you think ‘that’s too much’ and then add a little more. You need enough to cover every crevice and rub it in thoroughly. The World Health Organization says your sanitizing session should take 20-30 seconds.
- We’re not waiting for it to dry. According to Dr. Zeke J. McKinney from Minnesota’s HealthPartners Riverway Clinic, if you don’t wait for it to dry, you can “end up wiping it off on something, and then it’s not really doing its job.” The CDC says to rub for at least 20 seconds but really you should keep rubbing until your hands are completely dry to be safe.
- We’re relying on it too much. Dr. McKinney says hand sanitizer should not replace good old-fashioned hand washing. If it’s used properly, hand sanitizer is an effective way to slow the potential spread of the coronavirus, but should only be used when soap and water aren’t available.
- We’re not storing it properly. Thomas Russo, chief of the infectious disease division at the University of Buffalo in New York, warns that you should keep hand sanitizer away from children. There has been a rise in cases of kids being poisoned from ingesting it.
Phil Harris is 50% of "Phil & Mel in the Afternoon" on K104.7. He has been with the station since 2013 and on the air in Charlotte since 2000. Before coming to the Queen City, Phil worked for radio stations in Pittsburgh, Austin, and Seattle. In addition to the weekly "Throwback Threesome" music video feature, Phil writes about things that matter to Charlotte sports fans and pet owners. He happens to be both.
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