Hand sanitizers - a word of caution

Of course we live in the times of COVID-19, where hand washing and/or use of hand sanitizers are heavily promoted. Even before the outbreak, I have seen worried moms use hand sanitizers generously in their attempts to keep theirs and their children's hands clean. This has always scared me and I'll tell you why:

1) When you read the big list of things that go into making of a hand sanitizer, can you easily identify most of them and are you comfortable in using them on your skin? High concentrations of alcohol, parabens and pthalates lead to problems from Eczema to hormone imbalance!

2) One of the ingredients in many sanitizers, soaps and even toothpaste - triclosan deserves a point of its own. Here are areas of issues due to triclosan alone:

a) Resistance to antibiotics

b) Hormonal disruptions

c) Compromising immune system 

3) Bacteria will develop resistance and evolve, making many antibiotics useless to human beings. So in the event of another infection, the common antibiotics used may not work.

There is no substitute to hand washing with clean water and common soap. In the event of emergencies, please do carry hand sanitizers, but please avoid overuse. Antibiotic resistance and release of toxic substances are not a problem to only an individual using them but to all living creatures inhabiting our one Earth! The age-old belief - 'Everything in moderation' continues to prove true. Stay safe.