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- MayoClinic.com: Contact Dermatitis
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives
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Allergic Reaction to Hand Sanitizers
Because of their convenience and portability, hand sanitizers can literally be a lifesaver. Whether you're camping or simply faced with a portable toilet at a public event, hand sanitizers can be the next best thing to hand washing. However, if you have ever had an allergic reaction to hand sanitizers, you may end up paying for the convenience with the high price of itchy skin or a red rash.
Contact Dermatitis
The term for an allergic reaction to a product or substance that has come into contact with your skin is contact dermatitis 1. Treatment of contact dermatitis, according to MayoClinic.com, involves applying anti-itch creams and wet compresses as well as using oral medications such as antihistamines to relieve the itching and reduce inflammation 1. Prevention of the situation is preferable, though, and can be done by avoiding contact with the offending agent and eliminating it from your immediate environment.
Hand Washing
Ingredients in Hand Sanitizer
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Washing with soap and water is the best way to reduce the number of germs on your hands, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2. Although they do not eliminate all types of germs, alcohol-based hand sanitizers that contain at least 60 percent alcohol should be used if soap and water are not available. Also, hand sanitizers are not effective enough when your hands are visibly dirty, so if you have ever had an allergic reaction, use the hand sanitizer only when it can actually be effective.
Guidelines
If you have a hand sanitizer allergy, use one with as few chemicals as possible. The Environmental Working Group advises as using hand sanitizers with ethanol/ethyl alcohol. Fragrance, however is an ingredient you can live without when it comes to hand sanitizers, so going one step further and choosing fragrance free can be a measure of protection against developing an allergic reaction.
Alternatives
What to Do if Hand Sanitizer Gets in Eyes
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Besides choosing fragrance-free sanitizer and choosing to wash hands with soap and water whenever possible, there are a few additional things you can do to prevent an allergic reaction. One is to rinse hands with bottled water after leaving the hand sanitizer on your hands for a few minutes. Another option is to bring wet wipes and hand sanitizer if you know you will be in a situation without running water and soap. After leaving the sanitizer on your hands a few minutes, wipe the residual off with a wet wipe. Your best bet overall, though, is to choose a hand sanitizer with as few chemicals as possible.
- Besides choosing fragrance-free sanitizer and choosing to wash hands with soap and water whenever possible, there are a few additional things you can do to prevent an allergic reaction.
- Another option is to bring wet wipes and hand sanitizer if you know you will be in a situation without running water and soap.
Related Articles
References
- MayoClinic.com: Contact Dermatitis
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives
- Environmental Working Group: Skin Deep Cosmetics Database: Top Tips for Safer Products
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Statement for Healthcare Personnel on Hand Hygiene during the Response to the International Emergence of COVID-19. Updated March 14, 2020.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chemical disinfectants. Updated September 18, 2016.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When and How to Wash Your Hands. Updated October 3, 2019.
- Vermeil T, Peters A, Kilpatrick C, Pires D, Allegranzi B, Pittet D. Hand hygiene in hospitals: anatomy of a revolution. J Hosp Infect. 2019;101(4):383-392. doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2018.09.003
- McEgan R, Danyluk MD. Evaluation of aqueous and alcohol-based quaternary ammonium sanitizers for inactivating Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes on peanut and pistachio shells. Food Microbiol. 2015;47:93-98. doi:10.1016/j.fm.2014.11.010
- Inaida S, Shobugawa Y, Matsuno S, Saito R, Suzuki H. Delayed norovirus epidemic in the 2009-2010 season in Japan: potential relationship with intensive hand sanitizer use for pandemic influenza. Epidemiol Infect. 2016;144(12):2561-2567. doi:10.1017/S0950268816000984
- Stebbins S, Cummings DA, Stark JH, et al. Reduction in the incidence of influenza A but not influenza B associated with use of hand sanitizer and cough hygiene in schools: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2011;30(11):921-926. doi:10.1097/INF.0b013e3182218656
- Azor-Martinez E, Yui-Hifume R, Muñoz-Vico FJ, et al. Effectiveness of a hand hygiene program at child care centers: A cluster randomized trial. Pediatrics. 2018;142(5):e20181245. doi:10.1542/peds.2018-1245
- Blaney DD, Daly ER, Kirkland KB, Tongren JE, Kelso PT, Talbot EA. Use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers as a risk factor for norovirus outbreaks in long-term care facilities in northern New England: December 2006 to March 2007. Am J Infect Control. 2011;39(4):296-301. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2010.10.010
- Wilson AM, Reynolds KA, Jaykus LA, Escudero-Abarca B, Gerba CP. Comparison of estimated norovirus infection risk reductions for a single fomite contact scenario with residual and nonresidual hand sanitizers. Am J Infect Control. 2019;S0196-6553(19)30846-6. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2019.09.010
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Handwashing: Clean hands save lives. Updated January 14, 2020.
Writer Bio
Lynn MacPherson has covered health, preventive care and nutrition for various online publications. She holds a Bachelor of Science in counseling and guidance from the University of Montevallo.