#Alcohol-Hand Sanitizers increase #norovirus risk: study says

A survey of 161 long-term care facilities in the United States presented at an American College of Preventative Medicine meeting in February revealed an association between the preferential use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers for routine hand hygiene with an increased risk for outbreaks of norovirus, the highly infectious virus that causes most cases of acute gastroenteritis

Of the 45 facilities that reported preferential use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers in a recent survey, 53% experienced a confirmed outbreak of norovirus, compared with 18% of the 17 facilities that used hand sanitizers less often than soap and water.

"...these findings indicate that alcohol-based hand sanitizers might be “suboptimal in controlling the spread of noroviruses,” said Dr. David Blaney of the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Other studies have demonstrated that alcohol-based hand sanitizers are often ineffective against nonenveloped viruses, including norovirus, suggesting their use may not be appropriate in settings that frequently experience outbreaks, such as long-term care facilities..

for the full story:  http://www.cmaj.ca/site/earlyreleases/10aug11_hand-sanitizers-may-increase-norovirus-risk.xhtml

The #Buzz from too much #alcoholhandsanitizer

Research experts at the University of Florida have found yet another reason not to use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The latest academic study, first made public on May 12, has become the subject of global news coverage.

Lobbyists for the makers of alcohol-based hand sanitizer products have yet to comment on the latest independent study that raises yet more alarms for a outdated healthcare product that has become increasingly under fire, and not only because the product is flammable.

The study was based on daily hand sanitizer application required for use by professional health care workers, which includes workers at public and private hospitals, as well as most licensed senior care facilities.

The lobbyists and spokespeople for the largest manufacturers are expected to dispute the findings, and one industry analyst expect leading makers to argue the report was flawed because those tested represent a unique and small minority of people that are required to have clean hands.

We would say the following to that "small minority" of people who want their hands clean of bacteria and easily-transmitted viruses, and use hand sanitizer products whether they're required to or not:

"There actually are other highly effective hand hygiene products that do not rely on alcohol as an ingredient. Many of these other products are safer to use and don't irritate the skin with excessive use; a notorious "feature" of alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

In fact, since 2007, the number of alcohol-free hand sanitizer brands as increased from less than five to more than 25 that compete on a national and in some cases, global basis.

The buzz about too much hand sanitizer: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com

#Japan #Tsunami & #Earthquake Relief Requies Alcohol-Free-#HandSanitizer

Disaster zones call for hand hygiene emergency supplies as a first response. Hand sanitizer products supplied should be alcohol-free because typical alcohol-based hand sanitizers such as GOJO Purell, GermX and cannot be transported via cargo plane due to flash point risk, and they must travel by ship from port of manufacture to destination. See suppliers of alcohol-free hand sanitizers for more information.

UK Hand Hygiene Study: $4 Billion Cost

An independent survey amongst office workers has shown that the major cause of absence from work is colds and ‘flu and a major contributor to the spread of the infection at work is poor hand hygiene. But to date, the hand drying element is rarely referred to. Indeed the survey showed that whilst 87% of office employees thought hand washing was effective at controlling the spread of infection, only 13% thought hand drying had any contribution to make.

However, the latest study on effective hand hygiene carried out by Bradford University confirms the truth of the widely accepted view that hand washing is a hugely important infection control measure, a view also held by the Health Protection Agency and the NHS Infection Control Team. This latest survey, commissioned by Connect Hygiene Products, showed that 93% of employees thought that too. However, the Bradford study goes on to state that hand drying is vitally important in preventing post wash translocation of bacteria from the hand’s surface to the next hard surface it touches.

Teacher Sentenced :Forced Students to Lick Alcohol Hand Sanitizer from His Hands

we just can't make this stuff up...just another of thousands of cases, and why this blog has been promoting the use of alcohol-free hand sanitizer

Michigan Teen Spikes Teacher's Soda With Alcohol Hand Sanitizer

MICHIGAN CITY — Elston Middle School staff called police to the school Thursday to deal with a student who allegedly put alcohol-based hand sanitizer in a teacher’s pop can Thursday.

Police arrested the 13-year-old boy at 3:10 p.m. and charged him with criminal recklessness.
According to the police report, the teacher complained of feeling ill after drinking the beverage, which allegedly tasted funny and smelled like alcohol. A school nurse released the teacher after calling poison control.

While the teacher was in the nurse’s office, the class was asked what happened. According to the police report, 13 of the 18 students in the class said they saw the accused boy use the hand sanitizer, and a few saw him put it into the teacher’s drink.


The root beer and alcohol hand sanitizer were taken as evidence.

Inmates Drunk on Alcohol Hand Sanitizer Try Escape: Prison Warden Missed The Memo?

And we thought that every prison had received "the memo" that prohibits alcohol-based hand sanitizer within state and federal prisons... 

Three men who tried to break out of the Saskatoon Correctional Centre in September are on their way to federal prison.
Kendal Campeau, 20, Brett Wapass, 21, and Randy Brabant, 23, pleaded guilty in provincial court to charges of attempted escape, kidnapping and forcibly seizing three jail guards while armed with shanks made from an oven rack.
All three inmates were drunk on prison-made alcohol and hand sanitizer when they forced their way into a staff office at the facility on the night of Sept. 11, holding weapons to the guards' throats and demanding their keys, court heard.

#Flu Season Claims First Fatalities: CDC Reminds About Hand Hygiene

According to the US Centers For Disease Control, the Flu Season is officially open, with precincts in Atlanta reporting the first fatalities.

While its important to practice proper hand hygiene throughout the year, this is as a good a time as any to focus on best practices.

Whether you're traveling, attending increasing number of family and or business get-togethers, welcoming home relatives from college, or simply shaking a lot more hands than usual, when washing with soap and water is not readily convenient, be smart when selecting your hand sanitizer. Keep the holiday spirits in a glass, and use non-alcohol-hand sanitizer for the purpose of taking additional hand hygiene steps. 

Alabama jail inmates caught drinking alcohol-based hand sanitizer

 makes one wonder what the jailers were thinking by even allowing alcohol-based hand sanitizers; most correctional facilities prohibit it! (explaining why many venues have introduced alcohol-free hand sanitizer products)

By Lisa Rogers
Times Staff Writer
Six Etowah County jail inmates have been punished after they tried to use an alcohol-based gel hand sanitizer to get drunk.

The sanitizer was broken down and turned into a liquid by using regular table salt, Etowah County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Corrections Scott Hassell said.

Hassell said jailers were made aware of the method that could be used to break down the sanitizer about a year ago, but this is the first time inmates have been caught doing it.

When salt is added to the gel, it breaks down and becomes denatured ethanol, Dale Hyatt, the environmental health and safety officer at the jail, said. He said ethanol evaporates quickly, which is why it is used in the hand sanitizer. The liquid smells much like rubbing alcohol.

Hand sanitizer is not readily available to the inmates, but it is in each section of the jail after last year’s H1N1 flu scare.

Hyatt said sanitizing the jail is done often, with door knobs sanitized with germ killer every two hours. He said the hand sanitizer is in small containers and usually accessible only to the jailers.

The inmates involved in the incident had gotten a small bottle of hand sanitizer and put a small amount of salt in it, he said.

But the alcohol in the hand sanitizer is not the same as in alcoholic drinks.

The ethanol from the sanitizer metabolizes in the liver and the drink gives a sugar rush. The liquid in larger amounts can be toxic, however.

This method only takes a couple of minutes, Dodd said, but it doesn’t produce a drinkable alcohol.

It’s a different process than the old recipe known as “jailhouse julep,” he said.

Inmates will use fresh fruit and mix it with bread in an airtight jar to make alcohol, but the process takes several weeks, Dodd said.

“The mixture of the yeast and sugar turns into alcohol,” he said.

Random cell searches are done every day to prevent the making of julep and other disruptions to the inmates, Hassell said.

Hassell said parents need to be aware that sanitizer is being used in this way.

“If the inmates have learned how to do this, others know, too,” Hassell said. “But the bad thing is that it makes you sick, and it can be toxic.”

Hand Hygiene Up; Hospital-Acquired-Ilness Down

Improved hand hygiene amongst hospital staff is a major factor in the dramatic decline in healthcare associated infections, according to a recent study.

HPA figures show healthcare associated infections, such as MRSA and Colstridium Difficile have fallen dramatically since the NPSA launched the Clean Your Hands Campaign in 2004 – with the aim of improving hand hygiene amongst healthcare staff.

Between April 2004 and March 2010 MRSA rates in hospitals across England fell from 7,233 to 1,898. Similarly, cases Clostridium Difficile (C.diff) in hospitals in England have fallen from 55, 498 in to 25,604 in recent years.