7 situations in which you should not use a hand sanitizer

The fear of catching the infection has made us all habitual of washing our hands and using sanitizer often. Though yes, hand sanitizers seem to be an easy option to keep all the nasty bugs away but using too much of it can be bad for you. Here is why you need to worry about that little bottle of hand sanitizer.

Using excessive hand sanitizer can kill the good bacteria that helps in keeping our skin and bodies healthy. These good microbiomes play a major role in keeping us healthy. And hand sanitizer does kill a lot of microbiome. Though it's difficult to determine how much hand sanitizer is too much, here is a list of incidences when you can avoid using the hand sanitizer.

Hand sanitizer should always take a back seat if you have access to soap and water. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the best way to get rid of germs is by properly washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Washing hands removes the bugs and washes them down the drain. Soap and water should be the first preference to clean your hands in all situations possible.

If you have ever tried to clean your dirt off with sanitizer, you know it just creates a muddy mess. The alcohol-based hand sanitizers do not remove dirt and are less effective in killing the virus and bacteria if the hands are soiled.

If you need to clean the dirt, use soap and water. For example, after gardening, sports, playing outside, you must avoid using hand sanitizer.

Tell us honestly, how many times have you used a hand sanitizer when someone sitting next to you sneezed? A lot of times, right? The fact is that when someone coughs or sneezes near you, you will catch infection from the air droplets while breathing. Contaminated hands are not the only way to catch an infection. Thus, do not sanitize your hands again and again when someone sitting near you coughs or sneezes.

A lot of us use hand sanitizer just out of habit. But frequent use can create resistant bacteria, says a new study. The bacteria become resistant over time with the overuse of hand sanitizer. The more we use hand sanitizer, the more are the chances of germs becoming tolerant of alcohol. Thus, reserve using sanitizer only when it's necessary.

Has your hand cream stopped working? No matter how much lotion you apply, your hands still feel dry? Hand sanitizer is to be blamed for this. The overuse of hand sanitizer can lead to skin irritation and dry hands. It's best to use the hand sanitizer once properly rather than using it often. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the right way to apply hand sanitizer is by rubbing it all over the surfaces on both hands for about 20 seconds, until the hands are dry.

Hand sanitizer is safe to use on kids as the sanitizer will not result in any significant absorption of alcohol in the body. But ingestion or inhalation of alcohol-based sanitizer can result in injury or toxicity. From 2011 to 2015, U.S. poison control centres received almost 85,000 calls about hand sanitizer exposure in children. The risks involve keeping the sanitizer in easily accessible places like purses, cares and around the house.

Using hand sanitizer after blowing your nose, doesn't mean you are good to go out. Hand sanitizer is an essential way to prevent many infections. But it's best to stay home when you have flu.