Effectiveness of DIY Hand Sanitizers | Don’t Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer

As anxiety surrounding the COVID-19 surges the world, some stores are trying to keep up with the need for hand sanitizer. Some people have resorted to making their own.

Instructions to DIY hand sanitizer are leaping all over the internet. The World Health Organization also provides an official guide to make hand sanitizer.  However, experts are questioning this idea. If produced accurately, a DIY solution could be practical and useful. If made without clean water or medical-grade products, it can be harmful.

Daniel Parker, assistant professor of public health at the University of California, said that it is difficult to ensure that the concentrations are correct. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an effective hand sanitizer must have at least 60% alcohol content. Besides, there is a risk of hurting your hands if emollients are not included in your homemade recipe. Emollients usually could be found in the store-bought hand sanitizers because this ingredient could help to counter the harshness of the alcohol on the skin.

Like store-bought sanitizer, you should keep the homemade sanitizer away from the young children too. Based on the analysis by the Georgia Poison Center (2015), there is a nearly 400% increase in calls related to children younger than 12 consuming the product across the US. Ingesting as little as two or three squirts in some cases can cause alcohol poisoning.

Therefore, Parker advises that people wash their hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds. It is advisable to cover their mouth when sneezing or coughing and avoid touching their face, as well as regularly clean surfaces.

Besides, there’s a correct way to use hand sanitizer as well. Regardless of the type of hand sanitizer, make sure both of your hands are covered and rubbed until dry. Also, if your hands are visibly dirty or greasy, hand sanitizer may not be as effective.