Do hand sanitizers and hand washing REALLY do what they claim?

[vulcan1971]

We did a Ruby Princess Cruise in December, and two things amazed me

 

- In the public bathrooms, it is almost impossible to get a decent amount of soap. They were not using the 'white foam' soap, rather the thin orange stream where you waved your had in from of a sensor, and it was dispensed. Really, that is not an area where you want to be saving money

 

- They had signs around encouraging people to avoid using the public restrooms if possible, use the one in their cabins instead.

Yeah, right, we were in a stern balcony, and they want me to go up 3 desks, and down the length of the ship to use the bathroom in my cabin

 

If you are trying to prevent the spread of stomach virus, this was really dumb

 

I have seen a similar form of notice when sailing on Celebrity and I think what they are trying to say is that you are less likely to get sick by using your own bathroom. Clearly that is not convenient in every circumstance, which is why the "frequent hand washing with soap and water" is so important.

[vtcruising]

A couple of suggestions, from working in a hospital:

 

1) Though sanitizer is the most practical way to help prevent disease with a lot of people on a cruise ship, also washing with soap and water when your hands are soiled is a must (read: please do so when you leave the bathroom).

 

2) Some people are sensitive to certain soaps/foams so using those products is not helpful in the long run - they may want to bring something that works for them. We used to scrub our hands until they were raw (work in the NICU) until research showed that broken down skin holds bacteria very nicely.

 

3) My pet peeve: I love meeting new people, but I cringe every time I am offered a hand to shake on a cruise. I know it is a polite gesture, but I will need to use the sanitizer again (they may not know they are coming down with something and just transferred some germs to me). A smile and polite nod or a fist bump (shown to have less germ transfer than shaking hands) is my greeting of choice. People shouldn't be offended if people don't want to shake hands on the ship. Thanks for listening!

[ozarkmama]

I've seen some passengers outright refuse, or take just a little, or there was one passenger who asked for "just a little" and then proceeded to "share with her husband" by dabbing her fingertips on his. :confused:

 

 

I'd have a lot more respect for the person who says, "I'm sorry, I'm allergic or have sensitive skin" to the person who makes up some other feeble excuse or refuses altogether.

 

We use their hand sanitizer and I always have by own little bottle at the table and we all sanitize again.

 

 

I remember my son at 2 on Carnival Dream. Bobbing from side to side, doing a little dance, and singing "hand ass-i-tiz-er". 5 years later, and we still call it that in our family. My DH will toss the bottle at the kids and tell them to "ass-i-tize".

 

well good for you.

I refuse it. I am not a germ-a-phobe. I am allergic to a lot of chemicals. I wash my hands with plain soap and water.

 

http://www.everydayhealth.com/cold-and-flu/is-obsessive-hand-sanitizer-use-causing-more-colds-4745.aspx

[blindrid]

Washing hands, yes. Sanitizer, not really.

[cle-guy]

If anyones actually spent time watching the Celebrity information channel on the TV in the cabin, they go thru proper sanitizing techniques. In part of it they ask that people refrain form using their own hand sanitizers and instead use those provided by the ship as it is a special formulation.

[dwhe]

Be advised that some people including myself are either allergic or break out in rashes in some manner from using hand sanitizers....

 

No need to advise me I'm well aware of that, but I was talking about the people who make a big fuss instead of just saying "no thank you".

[BosoxI]

 

 

 

I notice that at the Captain's Club functions on Celebrity, the officers stand with their hands clasped behind them. Clearly, they don't want to shake hands. Neither do I, so I don't blame them a bit. But on a recent Princess cruise, the officers had no qualms about shaking hands.

 

When in the buffet, if I have taken food that needs to be manually handled, I'll leave it for minute and rise to wash my hands. Better cold food than noro. I cringe when I see people leave serving implements on top of the food, a common occurrence unfortunately.

[ConnCruise]

for many years and according to our infectious disease people hand sanitizers work very well. For most instances works about as well as soap and water. Big exception, is when the Hands are visibly soiled. (You RNs out there know what this means) in this case, soap and water are needed.

[boscobeans]

Frequent hand washing, with soap and water, for the duration of time it takes to sing the 2 verses of the "happy birthday" song (20-25 seconds), is the most consistent and effective means for improving your chances of staying healthy.

 

Granted that is good advice.

 

Enter the buffet with freshly washed clean hands and then touch tongs, spoons, salt and pepper shakers and finally reach down to adjust your chair using your hands on the armrests which probably have never been sanitized.

 

There is a place for hand sanitizers, maybe not the only thing but a darn good addition to hand washing.

 

OMO

 

bosco

Edited January 16, 2015 by boscobeans

[davekathy]

Granted that is good advice.

 

Enter the buffet with freshly washed clean hands and then touch tongs, spoons, salt and pepper shakers and finally reach down to adjust your chair using your hands on the armrests which probably have never been sanitized.

 

There is a place for hand sanitizers, maybe not the only thing but a darn good addition to hand washing.

 

OMO

 

bosco

 

What you described is why we carry our own hand sanitizer. We wash our hands, use the ships hand sanitizer and then we use ours before we start eating or drinking no matter where we are.

[boscobeans]

What you described is why we carry our own hand sanitizer. We wash our hands, use the ships hand sanitizer and then we use ours before we start eating or drinking no matter where we are.

 

We have been doing that for the past 14 years and have never had a problem... Hope our good fortune holds out in a few weeks on our next cruise.. LOL

 

bosco

[davekathy]

We have been doing that for the past 14 years and have never had a problem... Hope our good fortune holds out in a few weeks on our next cruise.. LOL

 

bosco

 

You know what they say about an ounce of prevention...enjoy your Cruise.

Edited January 16, 2015 by davekathy

[cle-guy]

What you described is why we carry our own hand sanitizer. We wash our hands, use the ships hand sanitizer and then we use ours before we start eating or drinking no matter where we are.

 

While this routine is admirable, it's important to note the sanitizer you use that you bring does not kill Noro, only the special formalization the ship provides does.

 

So your "added layer" of using your own, is essential truly a waste of the product, if used immediately after the ship's version.

 

If used when the ships version is not around, it will kill other things, but will have zero effect on Noro.

[boscobeans]

While this routine is admirable, it's important to note the sanitizer you use that you bring does not kill Noro, only the special formalization the ship provides does.

 

So your "added layer" of using your own, is essential truly a waste of the product, if used immediately after the ship's version.

 

If used when the ships version is not around, it will kill other things, but will have zero effect on Noro.

 

We bring several small spray bottles of Alpet D2 with us. It says for inanimate objects only but after looking at the ingredients we use it on our hands as well. It is a NO rinse sanitizer that is effective against Noro and just about everything else. We use it to spray most surfaces in our stateroom when we get on the ship as well. Leaves behind no residue and is safe to use in nurseries, breweries and food preparation facilities.

 

Never had any skin problems or irritation whatsoever.

 

bosco

[vulcan1971]

Granted that is good advice.

 

 

 

Enter the buffet with freshly washed clean hands and then touch tongs, spoons, salt and pepper shakers and finally reach down to adjust your chair using your hands on the armrests which probably have never been sanitized.

 

 

 

There is a place for hand sanitizers, maybe not the only thing but a darn good addition to hand washing.

 

 

 

OMO

 

 

 

bosco

 

 

On my recent 16 day Constellation cruise, I ate in the Oceanview for 3 meals. I try to avoid it all costs.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network using Tapatalk Pro

[neverbeenhere]

Keep your fingers out of your mouth, nose, and eyes and most sickness will be avoided.

[davekathy]

While this routine is admirable, it's important to note the sanitizer you use that you bring does not kill Noro, only the special formalization the ship provides does.

 

So your "added layer" of using your own, is essential truly a waste of the product, if used immediately after the ship's version.

 

If used when the ships version is not around, it will kill other things, but will have zero effect on Noro.

 

It's not a waste of MY money or product. We've never been sick on or returning from any of our Cruises. Noro isn't the only germ out there we are "trying" to avoid catching. We'll take every precaution possible including washing, keeping our fingers out of our mouth, nose, and eyes. The whole ship and all the ports are buffet of germs.

Edited January 16, 2015 by davekathy

[nobog]

While this routine is admirable, it's important to note the sanitizer you use that you bring does not kill Noro, only the special formalization the ship provides does.

 

So your "added layer" of using your own, is essential truly a waste of the product, if used immediately after the ship's version.

 

If used when the ships version is not around, it will kill other things, but will have zero effect on Noro.

 

I kindly suggest you go to the links in the original post and read the contents as that is not true according to the Phd author.

Jim

[cle-guy]

I kindly suggest you go to the links in the original post and read the contents as that is not true according to the Phd author.

Jim

 

Purelle is by far the most common sanitizer people cary with them, sure some will carry others mentioned in the article.

 

I didn't read anywhere in the article where Puerile killed Noro. If it was there, could you point that out to me? Perhaps I did miss it. I did read where some of the others were specifically noted to kill Noro and another "stomach flu", but didn't see same with puerile. It seems the author is killing whatever is on their hands in their methods of testing, but we don't know in most tests exactly WHAT is on their hands, let alone that Noro specifically is among the viruses and bacteria.

 

In fact the author closes with

I don't use hand sanitizer at home. I just carry a Clorox Hand Sanitizer Spray to use in public places.

 

I was also suspect reading the article in that the author had links to their amazon store reselling all the sanitizers tested, and a link to donate....

 

Ships want us to use their specialized formulations knowing the vast majority of people have their own little puerile dispenser handy, but for a few diehards who are very well studied in germs and go the extra mile to get something else.

[nobog]

I would suggest reading:

http://www.stopthestomachflu.com/Home/which-hand-sanitizers-kill-stomach-flu-viruses

as this has all the details on what kills what.

 

As far as the ads on her site, I believe they are the standard google ads that pop-up whenever you search for something - she is selling a couple of misc items not related but relatively minor IMO.

 

Jim

[RocketMan275]

We bring several small spray bottles of Alpet D2 with us. It says for inanimate objects only but after looking at the ingredients we use it on our hands as well. It is a NO rinse sanitizer that is effective against Noro and just about everything else. We use it to spray most surfaces in our stateroom when we get on the ship as well. Leaves behind no residue and is safe to use in nurseries, breweries and food preparation facilities.

 

Never had any skin problems or irritation whatsoever.

 

bosco

 

So where do you find those? I'm not interested in buying a case or a fifty gallon jug. Do you know where you can buy the small bottles without buying a case?

[cle-guy]

I would suggest reading:

http://www.stopthestomachflu.com/Home/which-hand-sanitizers-kill-stomach-flu-viruses

as this has all the details on what kills what.

 

As far as the ads on her site, I believe they are the standard google ads that pop-up whenever you search for something - she is selling a couple of misc items not related but relatively minor IMO.

 

Jim

 

Again, this link doesn't say anything about Puerile killing Noro, the most common sanitizer people carry with them. It also has links to sell items, and they are hard-coded, not google ads.

 

It does list some brands and formulations that do kill noro, but none of them are among the common things people carry with them.

 

My point is still most people carry Puerile or similar generic formulations of it, and think it's just as good as what the ship offers. The ship has a special formulation of Puerile, so don't bypass the ship stations, because you used your own already, as what you used isn't going to stop the spread of Noro, while the ship's version will.

 

Yes if you happen to be among the few that buy one of the noted Clorox Hand Sanitizing Spray, Germstar Noro, Zylast Antiseptic, and Sterizar Hand Foamer and use as recommended, you will kill noro. But the vast majority of those on a cruise will not have these particular products with them.

Edited January 16, 2015 by cle-guy

[boscobeans]

But the vast majority of those on a cruise will not have these particular products with them.

 

And if they do they will probably not use them correctly. The chlorox wipes take at least 3 minutes of contact. That's no quick rub a few times and proceed to picking up your bagel thinking you have Noro covered.

 

 

bosco

[keithm]

Frequent hand washing, with soap and water, for the duration of time it takes to sing the 2 verses of the "happy birthday" song (20-25 seconds), is the most consistent and effective means for improving your chances of staying healthy.

Spot on correct. It's what my PCP always says.

[vulcan1971]

Keep your fingers out of your mouth, nose, and eyes and most sickness will be avoided.

 

 

Especially while you are in line to get food. I'm always amazed to see people touching and preening themselves while doing any number of things. Many don't even notice they are doing this and they don't realize that this activity can have the effect of contaminating yourself or others with the illnesses that you can pick up or be carrying.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network using Tapatalk Pro

Edited January 16, 2015 by vulcan1971