View Full Version : hand sanitizer + alcohol
squeezebox
12-21-2013, 00:54
Yesterday I was about to put hand sanitizer on my pack list, and I was reading something someone said about a denatured alcohol stove. I suddenly thought , why bring both ? Denatured alcohol should work fine as hand sanitizer. Not any different than isopropyl or ethyl alcohol hand sanitizer. My thought, bring along a bit extra stove fuel and use it as hand sanitizer. If people had done that last year the norovirus would not have been so bad. IMHO
Doesn't denatured alcohol have chemicals in it that you absolutely don't want to ingest?
4eyedbuzzard
12-21-2013, 01:09
Denatured alcohol is generally ethyl alcohol with methyl alcohol added to make it poisonous so people can't drink it. It typically contains NO other chemicals. It would be bad to use on your skin repeatedly as it is also a defatting agent and will remove the oils from your skin, making your skin very dried out and leading to cracking.
I see problems cleaning your hands then cooking. Jazz hands of fire..
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psyculman
12-21-2013, 07:52
Denatured alcohol is used at work for cleaning items before gluing them up. It does dry skin out if used all day. However, there is no effect to health. I carry some hand cream to keep skin from getting overly dry. It has been never been objectionable.
garlic08
12-21-2013, 08:26
"De-natured" is exactly that--not natural any more. At our local brewery here in Golden, they produce alcohol as a byproduct then add gasoline to it to "denature" it, so they can sell and ship it not taxed as an alcoholic beverage. I don't want to wash my hands with that.
MuddyWaters
12-21-2013, 08:34
Soap works better than hand sanitizer.
Washing your hands with denatured alcohol is a bad idea.
Trailweaver
12-21-2013, 08:35
It is a chemical easily absorbed into the skin. . . Just use a little soap and water. You'll be healthier for it.
squeezebox
12-21-2013, 10:00
I would not think there would be much difference between denatured, isopropyl, or ethyl alcohol on your skin. not drinking it
squeezebox
12-21-2013, 10:02
and the point of putting it on your soggy feet would be to dry them out.
squeezebox
12-21-2013, 10:10
and the point of putting it on your soggy feet would be to dry them out.
Sarcasm the elf
12-21-2013, 11:22
Soap works better than hand sanitizer.
Washing your hands with denatured alcohol is a bad idea.
It should also be mentioned that alcohol does not kill everything that can make you sick. There was a huge outbreak of Norovirus (http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/) ( which is spread largely due to poor personal hygiene) on the A.T. this spring which caused a great deal of misery among hikers. Alcohol/hand sanitizer is useless against norovirus, however soap and water does effectively clean it from your hands.
The Cleaner
12-21-2013, 11:44
I'd say just pack a small plastic bottle of Dr. Bronners castile soap. 2 ounces will last a while and it cleans many things. Won't burn too well in your stove though....
CarlZ993
12-21-2013, 11:46
It should also be mentioned that alcohol does not kill everything that can make you sick. There was a huge outbreak of Norovirus (http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/) ( which is spread largely due to poor personal hygiene) on the A.T. this spring which caused a great deal of misery among hikers. Alcohol/hand sanitizer is useless against norovirus, however soap and water does effectively clean it from your hands.
After someone catches it, it is easily passed from person to person. While the 'plague' was rampant on the AT this year, I made it a point to use alcohol gel after reading & posting in the shelter logs. I later learned that it wasn't very effective against the virus. Just about everyone around me caught it. I was fortunate & didn't. That is some nasty bug.
Here's the method they taught us at Philmont Scout Ranch on how to wash your hands before meals.
Place one drop of Campsuds on the palm of one hand, then rub hands together to spread. It's important to use just one drop and no more.
Then rinse with treated water until soap is gone. This usually takes about 1 pint.
Do this away from the campsite.
Use alcohol hand sanitizer in addition to washing though out the day, especially after bathroom breaks.
25,000 people hike the trails on two week treks every year in a 2 month season in Philmont and they keep illness under control. You don't hear of Noro outbreaks there like you do every year on the AT.
4eyedbuzzard
12-26-2013, 11:02
Here's the method they taught us at Philmont Scout Ranch on how to wash your hands before meals.
Place one drop of Campsuds on the palm of one hand, then rub hands together to spread. It's important to use just one drop and no more.
Then rinse with treated water until soap is gone. This usually takes about 1 pint.
Do this away from the campsite.
Use alcohol hand sanitizer in addition to washing though out the day, especially after bathroom breaks.
25,000 people hike the trails on two week treks every year in a 2 month season in Philmont and they keep illness under control. You don't hear of Noro outbreaks there like you do every year on the AT.Apples and Oranges I think. At Philmont you have a controlled group environment, hygiene routines, food prep/cleanup is organized and supervised - and you have discipline over behavior. I'm sure things slip through the cracks, but all-in-all you have control over many things that can never be controlled on the AT. Add that sick scouts are likely removed or don't come, etc.
The AT is used by over 2 million INDIVIDUALS every year, and every one of them does things their own way, brings their own pathogens, etc. And backcountry hygiene is not the strong point of a lot of hikers.
That said, I've read of outbreaks of Norovirus at Boy Scout camps as well - it's not like it doesn't ever happen, it's just that there are probably better precautions taken to help prevent the spread once it's identified. Virus outbreaks can have a mind of their own.
Tipi Walter
12-26-2013, 11:08
It is a chemical easily absorbed into the skin. . . Just use a little soap and water. You'll be healthier for it.
Agreed. The hand skin absorbs in some amount whatever is placed on it. We're like frogs. Wood alcohol/methyl alcohol is toxic when absorbed into the body i.e. thru the skin. Bad idea.
Here's the system I use for clean hands in the winter---
** Fill the mouth up full with treated water and dribble water down onto hands and use one mouthful to initially clean hands.
** Fill up mouth again and then squirt a small amt of bronners into palm and thoroughly scrub hands.
** Use your filled mouth to rinse hands.
** Repeat two more times until hands thoroughly rinsed.
The mouth-to-hand system uses minimal water if you're not by a creek and dispenses with all the hand sanitizers, etc.
MuddyWaters
12-26-2013, 11:11
I dont use sanitizer, just soap and water.
It only takes a drop of soap and maybe 2 oz of water to wash hands if your conservative
Just dont wipe them on your filthy clothing to dry them.
It is a tough thing to do if you get your hands contaminated, everything will get contaminated. You then need help.
Apples and Oranges I think. At Philmont you have a controlled group environment, hygiene routines, food prep/cleanup is organized and supervised - and you have discipline over behavior. I'm sure things slip through the cracks, but all-in-all you have control over many things that can never be controlled on the AT. Add that sick scouts are likely removed or don't come, etc.
The AT is used by over 2 million INDIVIDUALS every year, and every one of them does things their own way, brings their own pathogens, etc. And backcountry hygiene is not the strong point of a lot of hikers.
That said, I've read of outbreaks of Norovirus at Boy Scout camps as well - it's not like it doesn't ever happen, it's just that there are probably better precautions taken to help prevent the spread once it's identified. Virus outbreaks can have a mind of their own.
Fair enough but the method was what was important.
4eyedbuzzard
12-27-2013, 10:13
Fair enough but the method was what was important.Oh, I agree with the method, especially the hand washing, as I rather doubt Noro and other such communicable illnesses are spread in water supplies, simply due to dilution. But there is just no way to enforce? instill? [pick an appropriate verb] all the prevention techniques the Scouts do routinely (bravo!) when dealing with a parade of individuals with varying degrees of training/education and over whom there is no control.