SANITISING TOO MUCH?
ALTHOUGH SANITISERS HAVE BECOME VITAL AMID THE PANDEMIC, EXCESSIVE USE MAY LEAD TO ISSUES
Excess of anything is bad and the same stands true for sanitisers as well. Although hand sanitisers have become an important part of our lives amid the pandemic, excessive usage of it is leading to many health issues. Moreover, with most shopping outlets mandating hand sanitisation of all visitors at the entrance, often a trip to market leaves one with a sore hand.
Gurugram-based businessman, Yatin Wadhwa, shares about having developed an allergy, owing to increased use of sanitisers. “I was using sanitisers about 10 to 15 times a day, and slowly developed an allergy on the hand. That was the lesson for me to restrict usage of sanitisers!”
Ritika Pahwa Sharma, a Faridabad resident, too, experienced allergies and breathing problems and went for a test. “I visited a doctor and after tests he confirmed that it’s due to excess use of hand sanitisers. So now, I ensure that I wash my hands whenever possible than sanitising them,” she says.
Alcohol based hand sanitisers are extremely effective in killing bacteria and viruses, but they also kill the “good protective bacteria,” says Gurugrambased Dr Nehal Shah Vora, adding, “This leads to Allergic Dermatitis or Eczema on your hands and you may experience dryness, burning, redness and even bleeding.”
Dr Vora also advises to use moisturising creams, after washing or sanitising hands. “When a staff at the entrance of shopping stores gives you dollops of sanitiser, use sparingly and then use a petroleum jelly or oil-based moisturiser,” he says.
Terming it a ‘real medical problem’, Dr Sanjay Chugh, a Delhi based psychiatrist, feels that there is also a risk of intoxication as sanitisers are 99% alcohol-based. “So if you keep putting them, and your hand goes to the nose, and you keep sniffing, you can get a buzz, which can possibly lay seeds for addiction,” he adds.
Emphasising that we don’t need to rely only on sanitisers to get rid of the virus, Delhibased Dr Anupam Sibal, says, “We need just soap and water to clean our hands and get rid of the SARS COV-2 viruses. Hand washing, masks and social distancing need to be a part of our daily existence.”