Hand Sanitizer in School...

A child was rushed to the ER from a elementry school with a high alcholic level from licking their hands after a teacher used hand sanitizers. I am 54 and there were no hand sanatizers and we all made it through childhood. J.

I agree with you. The hand sanitizer is more dangerous than the germs.
I never use it. Even if it worked and wasn't harmful, I would not use it because of the awful odor.

I think hand sanitizer certainly has it's place in modern society.

If the child is over 3, they don't lick it off of their hands. And if they do lick it, the sanitizer purchased should be the plain kind not the choco-berry-mango-coconut scented kind!

There just ARE times when hand-washing isn't available/feasible and I'd rather have sanitizer than nothing.

I vote for clean hands....washing is first choice...hand sanitizer is a substitute.

While I agree with you... think about the logistics of having 25 first graders wash their hands. You are talking about 30-40 minutes of hand washing going on!

You are right, we do overuse hand sanitizers, but at the same time a good hand washing is not a 10 second deal. One sink in the classroom... 25 kids.... 3 minutes each. Yikes.

It's less about the germs and more about the lost instructional time. If you would prefer that your child not use the sanitizer and that he/she wash hands twice a day, just ask the teacher!

I agree with you totally. I only put hand sanitizer out when someone in the house is violently ill (like stomach flu, or has a cold sore) --- although I'm not sure it's even effective against those types of germs; it just makes me feel better to get the kids to use it then because I know they don't wash their hands well enough or enough times a day.

However, yes I think generally we are out of control with antibacterial stuff. I think our bodies need to build resistance to things. If my son drops a Cheerio on the floor, I don't stop him from picking it up and eating it. But I've seen other moms freak out over the same thing.

I have read that also. I agree we are using the stuff way to much. We have one bottle in the bathroom and I have the kids use it after washing thier hands. Even with me helping them, Im not sure how clean they are getting thier hands. Other than that we don't use it in our home. I agree you have to let your body fight this stuff naturally. I understand where they are coming from with all of the kids and everything floating around but at the same time is it really helping that much or it is opening the door for something more happening in the future when they do catch some of the simple things.

My daughter was made to use it so much her first year in school that her little hands turned red and were so dry they cracked (due to the high alcohol content). When I asked if I could send in an alternative to it - like one of those lotion based hand sanitizer, I was told that it was against school policy. Wha????? I ended up having to get a note from her doc. Crazy!

I think at school let them use it, you have no idea how many germs are all over the place there. All of the kids in the classroom, passing pencils, books, etc.. Playground with 100's of kids playing out there..

But then at home, do not have them use it.. Have them just wash their hands thoroughly..

I agree with you, but I understand that at school with so many kids they have to do whatever they can to try to help keep sickness at bay. We never use the stuff at home, and never will. I figure my kids are fine using it at school since they have built up a real immune system all ready over all the years and since we still continue to just use regular old soap at home. Personally I think dirty hands are healthier than that stuff!!!

Eat less. Hike more.

Most of the hand sanitizer is 62% alcohol...there is obviously some that is absorbed through the skin. Sparingly is fine, but I really would not want my child using this all the time...

I think that they should replace 50% of any time they are about to use the sanitizer with actual hand washing. Every doctor will tell you to wash before you use sanitizer. It's really only supposed to be used when there isn't a sink around.
And my nephew who went to Adventure Land was obsessed with hand sanitizer because that was pretty much all they used. Not good at all. My sister had to buy him his on giant sized bottle because he wanted to use it all the stinking time

I take BOTH looks at hand sanitizer- liking it, and not so much liking it, for different reasons.

One thing I can definitely say though... my four kids have NEVER gotten sick when school is out- never. Yes, a cold here and there is no biggie, but despite MULTIPLE postings and requests, a parent will STILL send their child into school sick- AHHH! Like some ridiculous cycle :P! So, I guess the school's way to try to remedy that is hand sanitizer- although, it doesn't seem to ward off the germs in the end, cause my kids still get sick.

When I was still finishing my Child Development degree a few years ago (mostly evenings and online for me as I operate my own home based childcare as well), they had a "lab preschool" onsite at that time. Children (and any parents) entering the classroom were required to use the sanitizer. It was not an option. I have never worked in a center based childcare of any sort, but at the time was led to believe it was becoming more and more standard locally? Apparently not?

At the time my daughter was in middle and high school, and they jsut had the dispensers all over the place. For home based childcare, during the last few years, they actually changed the rules , back and forth, for how we are allowed to use sanitizer with small children (requiring permission slips, beling allowed to use in place of soap and water in certain instances, then revoking that, back and forth. UGH! It was a hot topic item for a few solid years).

I do not like to use the stuff. I have a lotion that is a sanitizer so it's less damaging to my hands and I use it probably about once a month. I keep it in my purse so it's available as needed. I use it when I am in a public restroom that has those "dryers" but no towels. I wash, use the dryer then use the sanitizer - most of the germs are removed by using a towel. My son will be starting soon and I will ask the teacher to refrain from use if she does use it in her classroom. I rather she was his hands than use that stuff.

We live in the DC area and go to lots of museums and activities. We use hand sanitizer when we're out at museums and other places where kids are touching stuff constantly (interactive exhibits at museums are touched by zillions of kids from preschoolers on up, in huge groups..I see them ahead of us, wiping their noses and then touching the computer touch screen....). Yes, I have her wash her hands too, but I'm not going to ask her to stop and do that after every time she touches an exhibit etc. I also have my daughter use it, for instance, when she's leaving her summer tutoring place where kids share all the pencils etc. Then we wash as soon as possible. Good washing habits with NON-antibacterial soaps are better all around, I agree.

But I feel no guilt about using hand sanitizer because I don't use any antibacterial dishwashing soaps, hand soaps or other such products at home. I also dislike the idea of plastics (in things like dish drainers) being "impregnated" with antibacterial chemicals, which you see now. I'm more concerned about all those antibacterial agents washing down into the watershed and affecting that than I am about occasional hand sanitizer use affecting my child or me negatively.

For myself, I use santizer most of all after the grocery store -- grocery cart handles must be covered not just in people's germs and viruses but raw meat juices and who knows what else, so I always figure it's the dirtiest thing I'll touch all day. And I can't necessariily walk back into the store to wash my hands after I unload a cart into the car. So that's why there's a bottle in the car all the time. But generally I agree that the antibacterial industry is out of hand. I say, sanitizer for times you know you're exposed to rampant germs, but no to products like antibacterial dish and hand soaps etc. In school? As someone posted, there is a logistical issue: Having 25-30 kids wash hands can be prohibitively long, so sanitizer is a good option there. But I'd rather they wash.