Whyis everyne so obsessed with buying _antibacterial_ wipes and hand sanitisers?

I agree - is it just clever marketing, trading on public ignorance?

A bit of both, perhaps?

No idea! Yesterday we put disinfectant on kitchen roll and used it to clean our shopping trolley handle. We washed our hands when we got home.

Apparently good old soap and water are just as good as anti bac ( and kinder to your skin and wallet!) We have bought no anti bac gel, but we have soap and disinfectant.

My husband’s business premises has no running water and therefore needs to have a 75% alcohol sanitiser available .He only managed to get one yesterday.

My husband has bottles of water and a bar of soap in the car with some paper towels. A bit primitive, but we couldnt get any antibac.

M0nica a disinfecting agent of some kind to kill a HCID like Covid-19 is what's required really so as long as the cleansing product does that (and doesn't cause damage & serious irritation by overuse) then that's all anyone does need to use on their skin. Using hand sanitisers is ok in small doses over a few day but without incorporating breaks of a day or two after a few days of use it can cause dermatitis ( something approximately 15% of nurses will suffer at some point) so I don't understand obsession about buying it except to use when out & about. People are being advised to socially distance and for some this means self isolating so the pragmatic approach to have it on one's person when outdoors is less significant. If, on the other hand, you do have to go out because it's unavoidable then it has its advantages so it's worth having one. Having a stockpile? Probably not necessary.

Antibacterial sanitiser contains at least 70% alcohol. It will therefore kill this virus. We used it after shopping and before getting into the car, then a good hand wash at home.

Sanitiser outside, soap and water inside.

The advantage of sanitiser is that it can be carries in your bag so you can clean your hands at any time.

Not everyone has regular access to soap and water throughout the day - so they’re going for the sanitiser as a back up.

It is not the use of wipes and hand sanitisers that puzzles me, use of them is essential but the use of antibacterial wipes and sanitisers and I really should have included anti-bacterial soaps and handwash because that is the real cause of my incomprehension - just shows that I shouldn't start threads, just before bedtime!

It is the thorough washing of hands with soap or using hand sanitiser, and wiping surfaces with any wipe that matters not whether it is anti bacterial or not.

I have problem skin and soap does not agree with it if used on it very regularly and despite using copious quantities of handcream the skin on my hands was becoming very dry and in danger of cracking - which would increase the dangers of infection. I am now washing my hands using aqueous cream instead of soap and thanks to a recommendation on another thread using a specialised handcream formulated for very dry skin.

It is the thorough cleanisng that does it, not the useless antibacterial ingredients for which you probably pay a premium.

I think even if the anti bac stuff doesn't kill the virus, it at least makes people wash/wipe their hands maybe more than what they did anyway, so something is better than nothing, there are some very dirty people about

Yes I think we must give people a break.

At an intellectual level it may not make sense, but these are dark and scary times and people are doing what they can to try to keep safe.

My daughter is a nurse and she advocates washing up liquid and hot water.

Sorry meant to say the washing up liquid and hot water for washing surfaces like kitchen tops etc etc. She says you can always add a small amount of bleach if the surface is appropriate.

Mainly because they haven't used anything else whilst growing up
They dont understand that a bar of soap does the same job

Yes that’s what I am largely using lovepaint a drop of bleach and washing up liquid for all surfaces.

Soap - which I always use- it is special sensitive soap that comes from USA- for washing. No hand gel, as we had a bit left so didnt buy, now all gone and impossible to get.

So disposable gloves if we need them.

Soap and water for me, continuously, because it means I am using a Christmas present of Mitsouko soaps and spend longer washing my hands because it smells gorgeous. New pack of Dove if I have any callers and bags of hand towels. Way to go !

Bleach and Dettol in the bathroom, Zoflora in the back kitchen. One pack of 4 toilet rolls and two kitchen rolls and that's it. Nothing more than I normally buy.

MOnica, about a year ago I was ill and a GP visited. I told him where the wash basin and clean towels were but he said he preferred hand sanitiser he kept in his car. Trained in infection control, I was surprised and shocked.

EV I am also enjoying some lovely soaps I have some French ones, Raspberry in use just now and DGS says his hands smell like summer.
As a family of chefs and food distributors we are a bit obsessed with hand washing and are quite shocked at people who do not understand how important it is.
I hope it continues after this is all over.

Even clean towel can harbour bacteria and germs. Depends what temperature they were washed at, how thoroughly they were dried and how they are stored.

The medics on the news last said wipes are effective against the virus.

That was to * Alexa*

last night

Talking about bar soap. A while ago I started using these again, cutting down on plastic. GS, 14, said that the new soap was no good. Turned out he had never used bar soap, and didn’t realise you had to rub it to get a lather!
Honestly!
??