# Are hand sanitizers (hand goop) worthwhile? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 7, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hand-sanitizers-hand-goop-worthwhile/670618 "2013-10-07T20:37:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hand-sanitizers-hand-goop-worthwhile/670618/1 "2013-10-07T20:37:13Z")
It’s been, what, 20 years since the first appearance of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Now they are everywhere - in grocery stores, in the gym, and in women’s purses. So, since these have appeared on the market, has there been any reduction in the number of people getting sick, or are they (as I suspect) completely worthless, and just a pacifier? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hand-sanitizers-hand-goop-worthwhile/670618/2 "2013-10-07T20:52:49Z")
It makes a good fire starter if you are hiking (and most likely female or hiking with a female person as they are the ones who typically carry hand sanitizer in my experience), and that use can be helpful. So not worthless at least as a fire accelerate. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hand-sanitizers-hand-goop-worthwhile/670618/3 "2013-10-07T20:57:00Z")
Cecil wrote a [column about hand sanitizers](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3008/how-are-you-supposed-to-use-hand-sanitizer) a couple of years ago, but it didn’t really answer your question. The closest it came was > [@](#): > > Studies have shown that a rigorous program of hygiene by hospital staff including use of hand sanitizer between patients significantly reduces so-called nosocomial infections. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hand-sanitizers-hand-goop-worthwhile/670618/4 "2013-10-07T21:11:08Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > It’s been, what, 20 years since the first appearance of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Now they are everywhere - in grocery stores, in the gym, and in women’s purses. > > So, since these have appeared on the market, has there been any reduction in the number of people getting sick, or are they (as I suspect) completely worthless, and just a pacifier? They’re effective, and are really intended for situations where you can’t wash your hands. For example, if you’re at the grocery store, and you pick up a bunch of meat packages, or stuff like that to look at them, you may want to use the hand sanitizer afterwards if you can’t go wash your hands, rather than just spread whatever funk is all over them everywhere you go. > **[Understanding the Basics of a Common Cold](https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/understanding-common-cold-basics)** > > WebMD's guide to the basics of the common cold. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hand-sanitizers-hand-goop-worthwhile/670618/5 "2013-10-08T10:28:48Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > It’s been, what, 20 years since the first appearance of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Now they are everywhere - in grocery stores, in the gym, and in women’s purses. > > So, since these have appeared on the market, has there been any reduction in the number of people getting sick, or are they (as I suspect) completely worthless, and just a pacifier? Sure they work. That’s why they are used in hospitals and in the military. No, they are not completely worthless, no they are not just a pacifier. Then come the difficult questions… It is still unknown if preventing infection in general is a Good Idea, or a Bad Idea. You work in symbiosis with your gut and surface (inside and outside) bacteria, and bacteria-like things that aren’t exactly bacteria. Effectively, most of your DNA is bacterial. You would not be able to digest food (ie “Eat”) without your gut bacteria. If your surface bacteria is disrupted, you are prone to infection by worse things that may kill you. Given that your bacteria is an important part of you, what happens when you disrupt it? Specifically, DOES IT MAKE YOU MORE SICK? Unknown question at present. FWIW, my doctor does not approve of medication in general unless specifically required, and does not approve of sterilization unless specifically required. Generally, she does not believe in rocking the boat, only bailing it out and patching it up. But that’s not the only opinion. Plenty of other people believe in nuking all bugs, and there is not much evidence to say they are wrong. Different subject: My doctor never gets colds. She’s already had 'em all. She’s not the only one: another told me that when starting in pediatrics he always had, not one, but several colds/infections running at the same time. For this reason, the military use of hand sanitizers that I am aware of does not aim to prevent sickness: it only aims to prevent sickness RIGHT NOW. They can all go and be sick at normal levels somewhere else some other time. Hospital use is the same. Does not aim to prevent sickness: aims to prevent the hospital causing extra sickness to people who are already sick and in hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hand-sanitizers-hand-goop-worthwhile/670618/6 "2013-10-08T13:38:57Z")
> [@bump](#): > > They’re effective, and are really intended for situations where you can’t wash your hands. > > For example, if you’re at the grocery store, and you pick up a bunch of meat packages, or stuff like that to look at them, you may want to use the hand sanitizer afterwards if you can’t go wash your hands, rather than just spread whatever funk is all over them everywhere you go. Ditto. My most frequent examples are eating in the car. Especially eating something that really messes up my hands, like cheese puffs. Or chocolate in the summer. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hand-sanitizers-hand-goop-worthwhile/670618/7 "2013-10-08T13:44:23Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Different subject: > > My doctor never gets colds. She’s already had 'em all. She’s not the only one: another told me that when starting in pediatrics he always had, not one, but several colds/infections running at the same time. Not uncommon among people exposed to a lot of diseases; teachers are much the same way. My mom said she had a cold pretty much constantly in her first year or two of teaching, and really hasn’t had any since. > [@Melbourne](#): > > For this reason, the military use of hand sanitizers that I am aware of does not aim to prevent sickness: it only aims to prevent sickness RIGHT NOW. They can all go and be sick at normal levels somewhere else some other time. > > Hospital use is the same. Does not aim to prevent sickness: aims to prevent the hospital causing extra sickness to people who are already sick and in hospital. The hand washing and hand sanitizing and what-not aren’t really intended to “prevent sickness” as such; they’re intended to not spread it around. Look at it this way- if your co-worker has a cold, do you want him wiping little bits of snot and saliva loaded with cold viruses everywhere so you can inadvertently get some on your fingers and into your mouth or eyes and thereby catching his cold? Or would you rather he and you wash your hands frequently and then either prevent him from smearing his snot, or even if he does manage that, then you wash it off before you get it in your nose? Another way to look at it is like this- you go into the doctor for your annual physical. Wouldn’t you prefer your doctor wash his hands before seeing you and after looking at some dude’s hemmorhoids?