Yes, we’re all get kind of addicted to our hand sanitizers but did you know that overusing them isn’t that good?
Maybe it’s time to give your hand sanitizer a break and here’s why:
1. It affects your skin
If the hand sanitizer you are using on a daily basis is alcohol based, it might irritate your skin. Alcohol is a skin irritant and causes your skin to become flaky and dry. Using an alcohol based hand sanitizer will cause your hands to prematurely age since dry skin is prone to blemishes and developing wrinkles. If you’re not ready to give up on your alcohol hand sanitizer, don’t forget to apply lotion on your hands afterwards.
2. It can lead to development of superbugs
Most hand sanitizers contain ‘triclosan’, a powerful antibacterial agent that can lead to development of superbugs. Superbugs are diseases that are resistant to traditional antibiotics. One study has also shown that overusing ‘triclosan’ can be dangerous for your immune system and it can make more vulnerable to getting more illnesses.
3. It contains possibly dangerous chemicals
Hand sanitizers contain a lot more chemicals than alcohol and triclosan. Scented sanitizers contain phthalates which can cause abnormalities in hormone production. The downside is that the companies that produce hand sanitizers don’t tell the exact ingredients used in their sanitizers and that’s why you need to be extra careful. To minimize the risk, avoid using fragranced hand sanitizers.
4. They aren’t even that effective
While some hand sanitizers are great at killing microbes, they also remove your natural produced oils and good bacteria from your hands. This, ironically, reduces your body’s disease defenses. Many studies have shown that using water and soap is more effective at washing away dangerous bacteria.