Hand Sanitizers

[Drybones]

I heard somewhere on the news that they believe using hand sanitizer a lot may cause sterility...don't know if there's anything to it but find it interesting that my female doctor is having to adopt.

[Wise Old Owl]

Personally, I dropped hand sanitizer from my kit and just carry the soap. Soap and water is simply more effective, and sanitizer is even less effective when the hands are soiled.

Well put it back in a tiny bottle.. when it contains Triclosan its better than an antibiotic. It's use in different concentrations for controlling flesh eating bacteria and Mrsa. One Boy Scout used it from the EME kit to start a small fire to stay alive... Too many uses, to leave it out.

Soap, water, and friction is all you need. Friction being the key measure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCVu_1d9AJ8

I’ve been hit with the norovirus and have written a few norovirus tracking reports as it rampantly spread through a number health care facilities. Lot of times it down to the luck of the draw. I've seen some take every possible means to avoid the virus come down with it and some not practicing safe procedures avoid the virus altogether.

Personal hygiene and proper waste disposal are often neglected by some hikers on the trail for various reasons. It is hard to avoid contaminated areas while on the trail due to the lack of facilities and because the host(s) are moving through a narrow corridor in the same direction as you, or have contaminated the area you are heading.

To enhance your chances of avoiding a known norovirus outbreak you should avoid hostels, shelters, picnic tables, restrooms and objects hikers might touch such as railings or door knobs. Avoid sharing food, water bottles, and utensils. Practice proper personal and waste hygiene, then thoroughly wash your gear and clothes as soon as you can.
The Norovirus is a lot of fun if you do get it!

Yes it is, but when you discuss avoidance, that's a waste of time... when was the last time you avoided a gas pump handle?... IMO what you are suggesting cannot be done... how about preventing the transfer to the nose and eyes by using a kleenex.

Noroviruses are relatively resistant. They can survive temperatures as high as 140°F and quick steaming processes that are often used for cooking shellfish.

Nothing wrong with using hand sanitizer, but as pointed out earlier in the thread, it does not kill Norovirus. It kills a lot of other critters, but not Noro.
Norovirus is not the only thing that makes people sick, so hand sanitizer and soap and water are still very good ideas IMHO.

Yes Alcohol doesn't kill noro and bleach is ineffective based on my last course at Delaware State University... yet the CDC is still preaching bleach.

I heard somewhere on the news that they believe using hand sanitizer a lot may cause sterility...don't know if there's anything to it but find it interesting that my female doctor is having to adopt.

Uh Alcohol has a huge part in fertility - making ugly folk look good... Which French grapevine were you listening to?

That Cruise ship thing... yea - they were handing out before each meal non alcoholic wipes and towels... So many chemicals... well I found that interesting..


Seriously not everyone is as good as the Japanese about hygiene - this is a cultural thing.. Just like bedbugs were re-introduced into this country - you have to see what is going on in a cruise ship and draw your own conclusion... There was a post last month that stuck out about backpacking and who got sick for bad practices... I took it to heart... if someone can remember how to find that thread please Pm me, I would be grateful.

Hope you all had a good chuckle!

[Old Hiker]

soap? really? I don't remember seeing too many (if at all) hikers on any trail that I've hike that carries a bar of soap. "Hey, buddy, can I borrow your big, fat bar of Irish Spring"? Hand Sanitizer works best, use that.

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Biodeg...an+soap+sheets

[squeezebox]

And don't forget to bring Imodium or generic, in case you get hit this year.

[Sierra2015]

I heard somewhere on the news that they believe using hand sanitizer a lot may cause sterility...don't know if there's anything to it but find it interesting that my female doctor is having to adopt.

I bet it has more to do with the fact she spent her fertile years in med school.

[double d]

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Biodeg...an+soap+sheets

Now that might work! Thanks for posting this.

[nu2hike]

I keep small bottles of hand sanitizer in the same pocket with my gorp and trail snacks,in my ziplock with my TP and in my kitchen kit! I've found that I use it more often when it's readily available!
I also carry Dr Bronners in a small dropper bottle for "bathing"!

[bamboo bob]

In a lot of miles I have seen one bar of soap on the AT. Some one left it in a spring. Motel soap. Please if you are using a bar of soap do not wash in the spring or creek. take some water away from the water source. It sucks for the next guy to drink your soap. Plus soap kills the little critters that live in the water like frogs, etc. Be nice.

[Odd Man Out]

In a lot of miles I have seen one bar of soap on the AT. Some one left it in a spring. Motel soap. Please if you are using a bar of soap do not wash in the spring or creek. take some water away from the water source. It sucks for the next guy to drink your soap. Plus soap kills the little critters that live in the water like frogs, etc. Be nice.

+1 - This is why I hate the term "biodegradable soap". It fools people into thinking that it is OK to use it in lakes and streams (it isn't). It also fools people into thinking that some soap is biodegradable and other soap isn't. Technically, all soap is biodegradable. Detergents are not, but soap is.

[msujay]

I decided to amputate my hands. Problem solved.

[misterfloyd]

I have been following this norovirus with keen interest since I will be hiking that way this summer. I usually use a Sawyer squeeze 50% and my AquaMira 50% as well. Since AquaMira kills viruses, I'm going to use this a lot more since we are all drinking from the same places.

[Another Kevin]

Count me among the hikers that carry soap. A little squeeze bottle of Dr Bronner's. It's useful for washing my cup and pot, my socks, and me.

In areas with good soil absorption, wash water goes in a cathole. In areas with poor soil absorption, wash water is spread out, well, as far as I can fling it. It's soap, not detergent, anyway, so it'll degrade pretty quickly.

If I'm not near a water source, I leave an open water bottle back by my pack, and the vial of soap next to it. when I do Deuteronomy 23:13. That way my dirty hands are nowhere near the cap of the bottle. I wash the outside of the bottle where I've handled it (just rub with the soapy water from my hands and then with the rinse water). It takes only a few ounces of water.

These precautions are great for bacteria and things like rotavirus or coxsackievirus. Norovirus, though, is hard to avoid. It often causes violent enough D&V that a sufferer is surrounded by airborne droplets and every surface nearby is contaminated, so it's quite possible to pick it up just walking through.

[Other]

Stay away from shelters and privies, if you must have contact with another hiker, make it eye contact only.

[MDSection12]

I carry a Five Hour Energy bottle of bleach with me now. If need be I'd mix some into some water and use that to clean up. Soap is fine for most applications but in some cases you just want to know you're clean. (Like when my dog rolled in crap while on the trail.)

[Rolls Kanardly]

Everything I've read says that norovirus isn't especially susceptible to hand sanitizer. The hand sanitizer should be a backup to soap and water.

Soap and water for me too. I was not specifically promoting hand sanitizers. We use a lot of it at my work place and I was hoping my observations will help someone make hand sanitizer more effective. If one person uses it in a better manner and does not get sick it is well worth the post. Rolls