In this brief guide, we are going to answer the question” Can you touch food after using a hand sanitizer?” with an in-depth analysis of some tips to follow while using hand sanitizers.
Can you touch food after using a hand sanitizer?
Yes, you can touch food after using hand sanitizer. When it is thoroughly dry, you can touch it. Hand sanitizers contain alcohol. Alcohol does not remain on your hands as it evaporates quickly. Some types of hand sanitizers contain ingredients like gels, lotions, and scents. They also contain ingredients that may leave an unpleasant taste on your fingers.
Hand sanitizer dries on your hands when you apply it. You may notice a bitter taste, if you lick your fingers while eating, either accidentally or on purpose. Maybe you notice it is dangerous, but it isn’t.
You can use hand sanitizer before eating, cooking, or handling food in any way. It is completely safe to use. There are no harmful or poisonous ingredients in hand sanitizers when ingested in tiny amounts. These ingredients are left deposited on dried hands.
What Is Hand Sanitizer?
Many people just use hand sanitizer to kill germs that can become the reason for illness. Hand sanitizers contain from 60% to 70% ethyl or isopropyl alcohol, which works to kill any disease-causing pathogens on the skin. The inactive ingredients are usually softening gels or lotions and natural or artificial colors or fragrances.
For example, the most popular hand sanitizer is Purell. It contains ethyl alcohol as the active ingredient. Ethyl alcohol is 70 %. When you use hand sanitizer as directed, it can kill up to 99% of disease-causing germs, according to Purell.
Naturally, alcohol dries the skin. Purell and other manufacturers of hand sanitizer add inactive ingredients to hand sanitizers. Which are designed to soothe the skin. In Purell, they include the following:
- Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (from the aloe vera plant, it is an effective skin moisturizer)
- Caprylyl Glycol (a skin conditioning agent)
- Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel (orange peel)
- Isopropyl Myristate (a moisturizer)
- Lavandula Hybrida Oil (a floral aroma)
- Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil (a citrus aroma)
- Pelargonium Graveolens Oil (from geraniums)
- Pogostemon Cablin Oil (commonly known as patchouli, a fragrant oil, it is used in perfumes and cosmetics.)
- Tocopheryl Acetate (a source of Vitamin E)
Other ingredients such as denaturants are also found in sanitizers. Denaturants such as isopropyl alcohol are that most manufacturers also include. Denaturants add a bad taste to hand sanitizer to deter people (especially children) from ingesting enough of it to cause accidental poisoning.
What happens to hand sanitizer after applying it to your hands?
When you apply hand sanitizer, It tingles a bit. You can also notice cuts or scrapes on your hand tingle.
After applying hand sanitizer to your hands, the alcohol starts going to work and kills the disease-causing pathogens by disrupting and dissolving the cell membranes of the bacteria and viruses. After killing microorganisms, the alcohol evaporates. It leaves the inactive ingredients behind on your hands.
When you’re rubbing in the hand sanitizer, your hands may feel sticky. The alcohol will evaporate after a few moments, and the sticky feeling also evaporates. Sometimes, the alcohol has a drying effect. If you don’t use hand sanitizer regularly, your hands may start to dry out.
If you have the problem of eczema, the alcohol can cause flare-ups leading to red, rough, or itchy patches on your hands. Dry, cracked skin increases your chances of catching germs.
Some precautions to follow:
Keep Hand Sanitizer Out of Your Eyes:
You should be careful that hand sanitizer doesn’t get in your eyes because it can cause burning and damage to the surface of the eye. Constantly look after your young children around dispensers containing hand sanitizer, which are often mounted at eye level and can splash.
If you get hand sanitizer in your eyes, rinse your eyes thoroughly with water as soon as possible, and call a healthcare provider or poison control center.
Use Hand Sanitizer in a Well-Ventilated Area:
Open the windows to improve ventilation if you are using hand sanitizer in a closed area, such as a car. Keep them open until the hand sanitizer is dry.
Supervise Children Using Hand Sanitizer:
Do not drink hand sanitizer. This is the most important thing for young children, especially toddlers. Toddlers are easily attracted by the pleasant smell of brightly colored bottles of hand sanitizer. If a child drinks even a small amount of hand sanitizer, it can cause alcohol poisoning in children.
What happens if you accidentally eat hand sanitizer?
If hand sanitizer is ingested, it can be dangerous, especially for children. If you eat even a small amount of hand sanitizer, it can cause symptoms of alcohol poisoning, such as nausea, vomiting, mental confusion, or loss of consciousness.
Here, you can find information about alcohol hand sanitizers.
Conclusion:
In this brief guide, we answered the question “Can you touch food after using a hand sanitizer?” with an in-depth analysis of some precautions to follow when you are using sanitizers.