Hand Sanitizer

[L454S]

Thanks for the responses. Caribill and others make a good point that I agree with. With the hand sanitizer, all you do is swirl the stuff around on your hands, it dries, and you go on. NOTHING is removed from your hands.

 

I also agree with above poster who states that people will do the sanitizer INSTEAD of washing. It's faster and easier, and they don't have to find the bathroom.

 

It just seems that there are some who take this a bit far, like Howard Hughes. All the posts about disinfecting the whole cabin(every day), putting the TV remote in a baggie, etc.......At what point is cruising not worth it? Evidently for some, that point has not been reached yet.

[SwissDave]

I agree that putting the remote in bag, disinfecting the cabin each day does seem to be a bit OTT. Do those same people constantly clean and dissinfect at home? I wonder if they do, and I also wonder (just a general question) are those the same people who always get colds, flu etc? perhaps they have made themselves so clean that they have little resistance to bugs?

 

A case in point in my office....there are several people who wear a scarf all day inside, as the air circulation system 'affects them'. When they go outside (temps anything from -5C to +10C at this time of year) they then put on several layers even if only out for a few minutes (smoke break etc). They come back inside take everything off except the scarf. Those same people also seem to be the ones who get every cough & cold going.

 

I wear short sleave shirts, dont put a coat on, and dont wear a scarf. I am very rarely ill.

[cr8tiv1]

I may be considered one of those OTT people. But I am a retired teacher who worked with snotty kids from 3 years old to the 7th grade during my career. In middle school, 200 kids a day would filter through my classes. Do you really think most parents took a day off from work to keep these sick sons and daughters at home? I was a "fortunate" teacher. I had a sink with cold running water in my classroom. I was always washing my hands, with cold water and my own soap. The district recently thought it best to provide hand sanitizer for each classroom. It is amazing to see how little it is used by the kids.

 

The sad part of teaching is that most teachers came down with a major illness at least once a year. It generally happened when we were on vacation (unpaid time off). That's how we spent our --- vacation.

 

Noro virus, the flu, the common cold, etc, is prevalent wherever there is a large crowd. Keep up your resistance, practice healthy habits, and wash your hands frequently will give you a slight edge. And please, if you are going to sneeze, sneeze into your elbow or sleeve and not your hands!

Edited February 6, 2014 by cr8tiv1

[Loonbeam]

It's not useless. It does reduce the viral load, just by nowhere near as much as washing. I'd rather people use this than nothing, but I'd much rather people wash than sanitize. And I really wish Princess would do what Disney does, have 2-3 people handing out wipes at the MDR and buffet enterances (they do have the advantage of fixed seatings)

 

 

Which is why there is no need to be upset about people who bypass this useless method of fighting noro.

[txgood]

It does reduce the viral load, just by nowhere near as much as washing. I'd rather people use this than nothing, but I'd much rather people wash than sanitize. And I really wish Princess would do what Disney does, have 2-3 people handing out wipes at the MDR and buffet entrances

 

I agree on both parts! :)

[Cobraman]

Zylast has several different formulations. The surgical scrub is 78% alcohol with a Benzethonium Cloride kicker, which they claim when coupled with their unique adjuvants delivers a longer-lasting kill time.

 

I picked some up and keep it in my car. I use it whenever I am finished pumping gas, since those gas nozzles are more likely to transmit cooties to you than a buffet line utensil.

[AZPam]

Zylast has several different formulations. The surgical scrub is 78% alcohol with a Benzethonium Cloride kicker, which they claim when coupled with their unique adjuvants delivers a longer-lasting kill time.

 

I picked some up and keep it in my car. I use it whenever I am finished pumping gas, since those gas nozzles are more likely to transmit cooties to you than a buffet line utensil.

 

Just ordered a couple of bottles of Zylast yesterday for our upcoming Caribbean Princess cruise. Hope it works! But I will also be washing my hands like a crazy person. Hubby had noro last year on a river cruise in Europe and there is no way we ever want to go thru that again.:eek:

[Redwing55]

I keep getting mixed impressions about these sanitizers in the buffet line. I am still under the impression that they have little success concerning the Noro. I thought I read that some hand cleaners are formulated to kill this virus. So why aren't the ships using those formulations- or are they already? My limited experience says no.

 

So, I'm not a fan of using those sanitizers on the buffet. And even then, when I see people use them, they rub a bit in the palms and off they go. You think that's effective against anything? I doubt it. Sorry, I'm still in the wash ones hands crowd, and try to keep ones hands from ones face (that's a hard one for me.)

 

So, for two reasons, effectiveness of the cleaner, and thoroughness of the application, I don't go nuts when people ignore the use of the cleaner in the buffet line. Now using the public restrooms and washing is another issue.

[mr green]

I'll tell you one thing that it DOES kill. AMMOLITE!! I had a nice ring when I boarded the ship, it is now ruined!!!

 

john

[Underwatr]

This was in use aboard my last cruise:

 

 

It's advertised by the manufacturer as being effectivie against Norovirus:

http://www.gojo.com/united-kingdom/market/healthcare/resources/resources/vf481.aspx

 

This document contains a summary of testing methodology:

http://www.handwashingforlife.com/files/Norovirus_Study.pdf

 

Note that Purell VF481 is not available to purchase in the US.

 

While it may be accurate to say that alcohol-based sanitizers are not effective against Norovirus, it's not necessarily true that all sanitizers are similarly ineffective.

[Donray]

You need to use enough alcohol based hand sanitizer to last for 30 seconds of rubbing. That is at least three time the amount most people apply.

[Jackytar]

To the OP: Here are a selection of links to what I hope you will consider authoritative sources:

 

US Center for Disease Control:

"Appropriate hand hygiene is likely the single most important method to prevent norovirus infection and control transmission. Reducing any norovirus present on hands is best accomplished by thorough handwashing with running water and plain or antiseptic soap. Washing with plain soap and water reduces the number of microbes on hands via mechanical removal of loosely adherent microorganisms (106). The efficacy of alcohol-based and other hand sanitizers against norovirus remains controversial with mixed evidence depending on the product formulation and evaluation methodology. In finger pad studies, soap and water used for 20 seconds have been demonstrated to reduce norovirus by 0.7--1.2 log10 by RT-PCR assay, whereas alcohol-based hand sanitizers did not demonstrate any appreciable reduction of viral RNA (107). However, such studies cannot determine whether the residual virus remains viable given the inability to cultivate human norovirus in vitro."

(source: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6003a1.htm?s_cid=rr6003a1_e, under "Hand Hygiene"; this appears to be more a technical discussion of norovirus than a "fact sheet" for lay use)

 

US CDC Norovirus fact sheet:

Wash your hands carefully with soap and water—

• especially after using the toilet and changing diapers, and

• always before eating, preparing, or handling food.

(source: http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/preventing-infection.html)

 

Public Health Agency of Canada:

Wash your hands thoroughly with warm water and soap after using the washroom and before preparing food.

(source: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/fs-sa/fs-fi/norovirus-eng.php, fact sheet for lay use)

 

UK Ministry of Health:

Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water, particularly after using the toilet and before preparing food.

(source: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Norovirus/Pages/Prevention.aspx, fact sheet for lay use)

 

Every one of those health agencies recommends hand-washing with soap and water as the first and most effective way to minimze the possibility of infection. From the more technical extract from the CDC, it seems the efficacy of hand sanitizers is an open question, at best. Wikipedia's norovirus article is based on these agencies' publications and other papers and references, so you could always look at that for an overview, too.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Jackytar