Overreliance on hand sanitizers may increase risk of virus infection

Since Japanese society is firmly rooted in moderation, this article is unnecessary.

Yes, that is sarcasm dripping from this post.

How many times a day is considered excessive? Or, is that not important to this article? Another article of guff from Kyodo.

Damned if you do, damned if you dont!

"Of course, it is necessary to wash hands and use alcohol-based hand sanitizers in order to reduce transmission of the new virus, but overdoing anything is not good," said a spokeswoman of a Japanese consumer and chemical products maker Kao Corp.

Right, and you want to sell more products as well! Articles like this do no good at a time when people should be washing their hands more frequently and sanitizing them as well! If they get dry skin, use a cream to increase moisture in the skin to prevent drying!

I can just hear some "oyaji" saying, after he sneezed into his hands, "I dont need to wash my hands, their naturally protected" and pull this article out as "proof"!

Some medical experts have started to warn 

How many is "some"? The article quotes a spokesperson for a single company. I'm no wiser than before.

Soap and water does wonders and goes along way too. Warm lukewater works much better than cold but in Japan all you get is cold water. Very few limited places have or use hot water or combination lukewarm water to rinse your hands.

The article has no real advice to give-pure waffle!

said a spokeswoman of a Japanese consumer and chemical products maker Kao Corp.

Dont waste our time with what a spokesperson for manufacturer says.

In a medical facility you will see treatment professionals wash their hands with an alcohol solution every time they enter a new room...possibly dozens of times a day.

Please provide a useful article from someone that we know is a medical professional

This is nothing new. The medical community first announced that overusing hand sanitizer is bad for you about a decade or so ago. People still slather it all over their hands anyway.

In addition, she urged consumers to firmly wipe their hands with a paper towel or a clean towel after washing them, as wet conditions could lead to skin disorders and make it easier for pathogenic agents including viruses to attach to hands.

Obviously she is not living in Japan. Hardly any public restrooms have paper towels to dry your hands after washing them. Hell many of them don't even have soap! And as many posters stated above, all you are going to get is cold water to wash your hands.

Medical professionals are always sanitizing their hands in front of each room in hospitals back home, I don't see them getting ill or spreading virus any more than anybody else!

Not sure of the purpose of this article, especially when it is quoting an employee of KAO, which makes the stuff. She should be telling people to bath in it, is she were smart!

Does hand sanitizer prevent the spread of coronavirus?

Yes. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are not only effective at preventing the transmission of coronavirus, but the transmission of viral infections in general. According to Public Health Canada, they need to have around 60 or 70 per cent alcohol content, which is the case for most over-the counter hand sanitizers.

According to University of Toronto professor James Scott, this percentage is actually even more effective than 100 per cent rubbing alcohol, because the little bit of water improves the way the alcohol penetrates and kills viruses outer coatings.

Hand sanitizer doesn’t replace hand-washing when it comes to actual dirt, but in terms of viral or bacterial illnesses it is an excellent way to prevent the spread of disease.

What about washing your hands?

Washing your hands properly can also be a great way to avoid the transmission of viral infection such as the coronavirus. But you have to do it properly.

According to Ontario Public Health, this means lathering for at least 15 seconds with a proper anti-bacterial hand soap, getting all up in the nooks and crannies and rinsing properly. 

More importantly though, is ensuring to wash your hands at the appropriate times — after you cough or sneeze, before you touch your face or eat. The same stuff you learned in grade school still applies as an adult!

What else can you do?

Avoid touching your face, mouth or nose without washing your hands afterwards. If you’re feeling sick, stay home to get better and not spread it to anyone else. Even if you don’t have coronavirus, it still is the best way to keep yourself and the people around you healthy. And if your symptoms do get worse, or you don’t get better for an extended period of time, take appropriate precautions and contact your health-care provider.

(Source: - https:// m DOT huffingtonpost DOT ca/entry/ hand-sanitizer-coronavirus-wuhan-canada_ca_5e2f26a3c5b67d8874b7ae94 )

This article is a few decades too late. I've been hearing this information since elementary and middle school.

She added applying lotion or cream containing moisturizing ingredients is essential to keep hand skin from chapping and strengthen its barrier function.

I'm guessing the main purpose of this article about comments from a Kao Corp spokesperson was to get people to use more of their hand lotions...

moderation is not a very popular word in times like these ...

Good to know, thanks.

Well if you relieve yourself 10 times a day, you should wash your hands 10 times a day.

You know what else ‘may increase the risk of virus infection’ - allowing the people from the cruise ship to walk straight onto public transport and travel around the country.

anybody know where to buy both masks and hand sanitizers near Shibuya station, my co-workers ran out.

From hand washing,

From wikipedia :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_washing#Adverse_effects_of_excessive_hand_washing

We can find these studies :

https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(06)01160-6/fulltext

https://www.everydayhealth.com/eczema/0411/too-clean-hands-can-lead-to-eczema.aspx

So it seems too many times depend of the people. Seems to start at more than 10 times but people can still be fine after 20 times. So when you start feeling irritation you have already crossed the too many times line. Drying your hand properly after sanitizing to get ride of remaining water should help in postponing the damaging.

As a spokesperson for the industry she must be conscious of backlash from people writing in to their complaints department with badly chapped fingers or hands.

Thus these words of moderation, yes/no?

I can't Believe people didn't know this. I've been saying it for years as moms in parks run around with alcohol-based wetwipes and constanlty wipe their kids' hands anytime touch Something. It lowers immunity, for one, but EASILY causes contact dermitities, which in turn can cause skin to split open in severe cases, creating open wounds. I'm guess not only does that sting once you wipe or add gel or spray or whatever, but it is wide open for other things to enter.

The only alcohol touching my hands is in a glass!

Probably shouldn’t be washing your hands in your beer, eh Mr Kipling?

Using cheap alcohol based sanitizers and mist spray sanitizers isn't so good. Most good sanitizers and hand soaps have added oils or skin lotion to help protect skin. Medical Laboratory workers wash their hands frequently and change gloves often during work. They generally get sick less often than the general public, proving that the measures they take work effectively. You should wash with hand soap as the first choice and if that's not available use sanitizer. It's the suds that remove the harmful agents not the soap. Alcohol is a weak anticeptic and helps prevent the transfer of disease agents. If you develop dry or cracked skin you need to add the use of a hand cream.

Zichi, It's good that medical workers sanitized their hands when they left your room. It's much better if the sanitize when the come in! And, by the way why don't medical workers, including doctors, practice better infection control? And why don't exam rooms and doctors offices all have sinks by the door with soap, hot water and towels?

Proper hand washing is the best defence. An article poo-pooing hand hygeine, but there are numerous articles about the useless masks.