Alternatives to Hand Sanitizer?

[fievel2011]

I really REALLY hate hand sanitizer for a number of reasons (including its contribution to the breeding of super germs, I'll defend that later) and see no reason to abandon my passionate dislike for it while on the trail.

Does anyone NOT use hand san these days? Do you just do soap and water instead? Rubbing alcohol? What do you think is the best lightweight alternative??

On principle, I don't like to use anything that's synthetically antibacterial. These products are never fully antibacterial, usually 99.9% or something. Allowing that 0.1% of the strongest most terrible germs to get by and multiply without competition. Thus the breeding of super germs.

Also, sorry if I'm repeating a previous thread. I couldn't find anything specifically devoted to this topic, but I may not have done the most thorough search....

Thanks for your help!

[Sickmont]

I rarely, if ever, use the stuff. I agree with the supergerm thing as well. Thats why i wont use it. Soap and water for me.

[Rick500]

Are there not sanitizers with alcohol as the only antibacterial agent? I thought there were but I could be wrong.

[Hobbler]

Personally, I don't and won't use the crap. When done with an application, there is a film left on your hands anyway. There are plenty of opportunities along the trail to wash up with a good bio-degradable soap away from the water sources and use LNT practices. At the very least you can reduce the germ factor by rinsing frequently with a wet towel/bandana to your "shaking" and "business" hand(s) and of course your other body parts. I do value the ability to be a tad cleaner though, as it helps my attitude and enjoyment of the trail.

If you want to use Sanitizers why not just carry/use alcohol instead?

[mweinstone]

fear cannot be washed away by beer. hand sanitizers a joke. dirt is life. soap is all one. master soapmaker dr bronner taught hillel jesus,.bla bla bla....

[jlb2012]

I use rubbing alcohol - cheaper and more multiuse

[Hikes in Rain]

Mostly soap and water. I do carry a little thing of alcohol sanitizer, but generally only use it after a visit to the privy. I wear contact lenses, and the thought of sanitizer residue getting into my eye just sends shivers down my spine. One eye is watering now, just at the thought.

[Fiddleback]

Is there a contradiction here? Sanitizers encourage the evolution of super bugs but soap and alcohol don't? Can I infer that sanitizers are preferred on the Left Coast but soap and water is preferred in the Bible Belt where evolution is not cottoned to...?

I find sanitizer convenient on the trail but use soap and water once in camp.

FB

[Sickmont]

Is there a contradiction here? Sanitizers encourage the evolution of super bugs but soap and alcohol don't?

Alcohol is the main ingredient in a lot of sanitizers. And no, plain ole soap and water wont encourage the evolution of "super bugs".

[Hikes in Rain]

Well, the alcohol sanitizers do make a nice emergency fire starter. Multi-purpose.

[fievel2011]

Yes to everyone who asks about or mentions alcohol and hand sanitizer being one in the same. It's the alcohol in the hand sanitizer (usually around 60% of the gel) that inactivates the pathogens. I'm not interested in bringing either, really, and my initial question-asking didn't make it very clear that they're the same thing. My bad guys.

I'm thinking soap and water, but am concerned about keeping LNT with soap...

[garlic08]

There is some evidence that handwashing is mostly mechanical. I've read that the main value of soap is that it gets people to rub their hands vigorously under running water for a longer time to remove the soapy feeling, and that vigorous rubbing does more good than the soap.

So I carry nothing but a bandanna and some common sense. When it's available, I'll scrub my hands with sand or suitable vegetation, like evergreen needles. In the desert, sage works well in lieu of water.

I've carried a scrap of soap a few times when I know I won't see a shower for more than four or five days and then I'll bathe in a river or stream.

This works well for me. I've never been sick on a long hike.

[Kaptain Kangaroo]

Poor hand hygiene is possibly the most common cause of illness when hiking, so it is probably a good idea to have some effective method of cleaning your hands if you want to reduce the risk of getting sick.

Yes, washing with soap & water is mostly mechanical, any bacteria etc. are physically removed from your hands. However the soap does play a part as it aids the removal process. Think about it...does washing your hands with only water or scrubbing them with sand/vegetation get all the dirt off ?? If not then it is also likely to be leaving some bugs behind as well.

Soap & water can be very effective, but you need to wash your hands properly & this means using a lot of water & plenty of soap. Somtetimes this is difficult, eg. you stop for lunch somewhere with no water source. This is where some form of hand sanitiser is useful.

Ther are studies that show hand sanitisers do not contribute to antibiotic resistance if that is what you are worried about with regard to "super germs"

Ultimately it's your call, but hand hygiene can help you stay healthy & hand sanitisers can be useful when conditions make soap & water washing difficult.

[Odd Man Out]

Is there a contradiction here? Sanitizers encourage the evolution of super bugs but soap and alcohol don't?

In appropriate use of ANTIBIOTICS encourages the propagation of super bugs. This is because they use very specific molecular interactions to kill bacteira which the bacteria can overcome through a variety of equally specific interactions (e.g. inhibition of peptidoglycan cross-linking by beta-lactams and their inactivation by beta-lacatamase). Chemical sanitizers (soap and alcohol) do not. No contradiction. Also test show that soap and water are just as effective as alcohol based sanitizers. There are other chemical based sanitizers besides alcohol. Some have quaternary ammonium compounds (essentially acting like detergents) and would not be biodegradable or environmentally friendly (soap and alcohol quite biodegradable). Others like bleach won't hurt the environment (in hand sanitizing amounts), but would do nasty things to your skin.

[Fiddleback]

Interesting answer...and not the first time one of my laugh lines has been deflated.

FB

[Roots]

I take a bar of soap--all natural...like dr bonners--and cut it up into smaller pieces and have a 'wash' bandana.

I have a small sanitizer too.

[bobqzzi]

I think it is important to note,as others have said, that hand sanitizers don't contribute to superbugs. It's one of those kind of popular myths that is harmful topeople's health. Kind of like the vacination/autism myth, just not as virulent

[atraildreamer]

When done with an application, there is a film left on your hands anyway.

I read that some dopes (especially teenagers)are drinking Purell, and other similar hand sanitizers, to get drunk. Since the stuff is around 60% ethyl alcohol (120 proof), and anyone can buy it, It is a relatively cheap source of booze. I think the film is the result of additives that are supposed to keep the hands from drying out (aloe, etc.), but are actually there to make the stuff taste bad.

[atraildreamer]

Yes, washing with soap & water is mostly mechanical, any bacteria etc. are physically removed from your hands. However the soap does play a part as it aids the removal process.

Been a while since I took Microbiology, but if I remember correctly, soap works because it is a long chain linear molecule which has both a net positive charge on one end and a net negative charge on the opposite end. Most germ bacteria have either a net positive charge, or a net negative charge. When soap comes in contact with the bacteria, the positive end of the soap molecule attaches to the negative bacteria and the negative end of the soap molecule attaches to the positive bacteria. In that sense, it is a mechanical process. Rinsing with water removes the soap and attached bacteria.

[fehchet]

A good Russian vodka or Newfie Screech work. I use a small bar of Dr. Bonners I carry in a Ziploc. They say (who ever they are) that excessive use of hand sanitizer results in the hand losing there natural ability to ward off germs.