By Nia Grantham and Deltroy Hill Staff Writers
Do you love to use hand sanitizer? Is so, East English Village anatomy and physiology teacher Gretchen Madison has some advice for you.
Madison said “hand sanitizer increases your skins absorption of BPA, which is a chemical linked to cancer, diabetes and hormone disorders. If your hand sanitizer has a scent, it’s also probably loaded with toxic chemicals.”
Triclosan is an ingredient added to products to prevent bacterial growth. But according to Madison, “if the label on your hand sanitizer reads antibacterial, it likely contains triclosan. The FDA has found no health benefits of triclosan. Even though it kills bacteria, it may contribute to making bacteria resistant to antibiotics.”
In other words, it helps to create a super bacteria. If hand sanitizer is needed, it’s best to look for unscented hand sanitizers to avoid putting chemicals on your skin.
Madison said she prefers washing hands, as opposed to using hand sanitizer.
“A two ounce bottle of hand sanitizer contains 62% of ethyl, the alcohol equivalent to four shots of vodka,” Madison said.
Yet, hand sanitizer is not all bad, if used only once per day. Use only a dime sized amount of alcohol based unscented sanitizer.
