[dbussone]

Originally Posted by Villages PL

Why do I think hand sanitizers are a bad idea? First of all, they may be appropriate in certain limited situations where ordinary soap & water is not available , but I haven't totally made up my mind on that.

I think the regular use of hand sanitizers at home or while shopping can be a bad idea for the same reason that the overuse of antibiotics is a bad idea. The sanitizing chemicals indiscriminately kill both the good and bad bacteria at the same time and we need the good bacteria for healthy skin and for a healthy immune system. Also, bad forms of bacteria may develop resistance to the chemicals and then multiply as "superbugs".

For more information, here's a link:

Hand Sanitizers: Good or Bad? - The Holistic Mama

I would agree with you IF the sanitizer included an antibiotic. That would be bad for the same reason that soaps with antibiotics are bad - as you note. However,most sanitizers use a high alcohol base (I think 70+%) as the sanitizer's primary method of dealing with germs. Alcohol based sanitizers should not create any resistance in bacteria. What one must be careful of is to select a sanitizer with a high enough alcohol content, otherwise all you are doing is sloshing the bacteria around on your hands without any cleansing occurring.

I use antibiotic free soaps when possible, and keep sanitizer in our cars, golf cart & and places where soap is generally unavailable.