Things that can terribly go wrong with your hand sanitizer

Hand sanitizers and face masks have become an important part of our new normal lives. Though doctors encourage washing hands with soap and water when compared to using hand sanitizer, we often find ourselves in a situation where we are left with no choice but to use a hand sanitizer. Because the usage of hand sanitizer has increased so much in the past six months, we need to be really careful about what we are using so that it is not harmful.

We tell you how a hand sanitizer can affect your health in multiple ways:

01/ ​When it contains triclosan instead of alcohol

It is recommended to use hand sanitizer with at least 60 per cent alcohol in order for it to be effective. But some sanitizers that do not have alcohol contain triclosan.

Triclosan is a powerful antibacterial agent and used in pesticides. It can be easily absorbed by your skin, which can impact your thyroid function and can damage your liver and muscles. Here are three mistakes you should not make while using a hand sanitizer.

02/ ​Do not use a hand sanitizer right before eating

Many of us use a hand sanitizer right before eating something without realising how many chemicals we consume when we do so. Hand sanitizers have a lot of chemicals and frequently ingesting it can harm your immunity, especially in young children.

If kids consume hand sanitizers, it can cause alcohol poisoning and damage their immune system to such an extent that it is on constant flight mode. Weakened immunity makes one vulnerable to diseases.

03/ ​Do not buy scented hand sanitizer

When hand sanitizers are scented, it means they are loaded with even more toxins and chemicals. The synthetic fragrance has harmful ingredients that are endocrine disruptors, which mimic hormone that can alter genetic development.

04/ ​It can cause severe burns

Not just this, hand sanitizer can also cause physical damage. The alcohol in hand sanitizer makes it highly inflammable. If you apply hand sanitizer on your hands and go near the fire, it may cause burns.

Incidents of burn have been reported due to the use of hand sanitizer. Not just this, it was reported a car had caught fire as it had hand sanitizer kept inside it. This can happen when the hand sanitizer kept in your car is not tightly closed. Vapours can keep accumulating in the car and make it a gas chamber. A small spark somewhere can also fire.

05/ ​Do not clean your masks with hand sanitize

Many of us think that the best way to clean our masks is by dipping them in water, but it's not. Doing so can trap the vapours of sanitizer in the mask and when you wear the mask after this, these fumes can cause nausea and vomiting.

06/ ​Easy ways to keep yourself safe from the side-effects of hand sanitizer

- Wash your hands with soap and water

- Keep the hand sanitizer away from the reach of kids

- Store the hand sanitizer in an airtight bottle

- Keep the hand sanitizer in a cool and dry place

- Do not keep the hand sanitizer in the kitchen and never apply it right before you go to cooking.

- Clean your mask with soap and water

Hand sanitizer has become an important part of our daily lives but only when you do not have an option to wash hands with soap and water. Washing hands with soap and water should always be your first preference.

from LifeStyle