why I don't use hand sanitizers

[tsukikage]

Okay, I've never trusted the idea of using chemicals to clean things and then not rinsing said chemical off. I prefer the germs of daily life, which my immune system can defend against, to chemicals, which my immune system cannot, accidentally getting in my mouth, thank you very much.
So, in my Spring break kit I got a small bottle of hand sanitizer. I decide to take a look at the drug information, and it says "non-toxic". "Maybe I was wrong - maybe this stuff is okay after all", I think. I continue reading the label, and then I find "If swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.". Yeah.. No thanks. How can you put both "non-toxic" and "if swallowed seek medical help right away" on the same bottle, anyway?
So, any of my RL friends who want a .5 oz. bottle of Purell, it's all yours.

Comments

[belindabird.livejournal.com]

it's probably toxic while wet because then it still contains alcohol or whatever other solvent is in it. Once the alcohol evaporates, the remaining residue on your hands is non-toxic. So if you bit your fingernails afterwards, it's not going to hurt you.

But I don't use that stuff either. I don't want to be part of the problem of creating mutated strains of bacteria.

[akaneko.livejournal.com]

That's probably just 'cause it contains rubbing alcohol; so long as you're not drinking it or injecting it, you should be fine. Not that there's any real need for the regular use of hand-sanitizers when you're in a 1st-world country with good plumbing.

[tiwonge.livejournal.com]

If you don't give your body practice fighting germs, it won't know what to do when it finally encounters some. :)