Where Do We Draw the Line Between Protection Against Germs and The Health Risks Associated with Hand Sanitizers?
As important as it is to eat healthy foods, knowing that our skin, which happens to be our largest organ, is not a barrier but a carrier of toxic chemicals that reach every organ within minutes, makes what we put on our bodies of utmost concern. Coupled with the fact that our skin does not have toxic safeguards like liver enzymes to break down toxins in food, makes what we put on our skin actually more important than what we ingest.
When considering the dangers of toxins applied to our skin, most of us think of our cosmetics, skin and personal care products with no regard for the hidden dangers in hand sanitizers. That is because we have been programmed to automatically reach for those products designed to keep us from getting sick. In fact, statistics reveal that 75% of us use six or more antimicrobial products every day.
Triggered by reports of the AIDS virus, influenza pandemic, and the increase in diseases our country has not seen in decades; warnings from public health authorities that strongly recommend frequent use of hand sanitizers; and the prolific ad campaigns from sanitizer manufacturers; Americans have become obsessed with protecting themselves from other people’s germs and those in their homes.
A microbiologist from the University of Arizona, Charles Gerba, warned that kitchen sponges and sinks harbor thousands more bacteria than toilet seats and ten percent of all dishcloths contain salmonella. He went on to point out that more fecal bacteria reside on the hands of toddlers than those exiting public toilet stalls while the flush of those toilets disperse enough droplets in the air to be described as “the Fourth of July”.
On their website, the Centers for Disease Control encourages Americans to frequently disinfect, not only the kitchen sink, but kitchen counters, bedroom furniture, and children’s toys.
Certainly, precautions should be taken to avoid infections, especially the potentially life-threatening ones such as the H1N1 swine flu, but where do we draw the line between protecting ourselves against those germs and the potentially dangerous buildup of toxic burden in our bodies from the very products that we use to prevent illnesses? When we realize that the average child touches their nose and mouth every three minutes, and that we, and our children, touch at least 30 different objects a minute, it becomes obvious that we cannot possibly cover ourselves enough with anti-bacterial products to stop germs from coming into contact with our bodies. Besides, it is the cold virus that is most often spread by hands, not influenza, which is most often contracted through tiny droplets dispersed in the air by sneezes and coughs.
While you may think that I am shooting my concerns in the foot because the mere mention of germs on toilets and toys-the likes of influenza- sparks hysteria in most mothers, to the point of purchasing more disinfectants and sanitizers, read on.
Doctors in Boston published a clinical trial study on alcohol-based hand sanitizers used in families who had children in day care. What they found over a five-month period is that in spite of the use of hand sanitizers, respiratory infections had remained unaffected. Columbia University came to the same conclusion that these products do not reduce common infections after they studied inner city families which were provided with antibacterial hand soap and other cleaning supplies. Shortly following this study, a University of Michigan epidemiologist, Allison Aiello, in her summary of results in testing alcohol based hand sanitizers, stated that most reductions in respiratory illness were not statistically significant.
A Boston group repeated this study in elementary schools, with the added protection from disinfectant wipes which they provided for each classroom, and again, concluded that the rate of respiratory infections remained unchanged. So, while these hand sanitizers may kill some germs, like those that cause diarrhea, studies have found that they don’t do a whole lot to prevent respiratory illnesses.
Based on my investigation of the most common ingredients in hand sanitizers, I found that they do pose considerable health risks which I wish to avoid.
Aminomethyl propanol is a chemical irritant that effects the respiratory system and disrupts the endocrine system.
Ethyl alcohol 65% – an absorption enhancer, helps drive the other ingredients into the skin while also drying out our skin.
Fragrance– Created from dozens of chemicals, many of which are highly toxic, fragrance, or more accurately called fakegrance, is virtually unregulated in the United States. Most often present in these scents are phthalates used to prolong the scent in the air. These chemicals are known endocrine disruptors, affecting sex hormones, especially in infants. Also likely responsible for a large share of the asthma epidemic, fakegrances irritate the lungs. The Environmental Working Group’s scale of 1 to10, with 10 being most toxic, rates fragrance toxicity level at 8.
Glycerin or glycerol, is a skin irritant.
Isopropyl alcohol, more commonly known as rubbing alcohol, is a petrochemical and known neurotoxin. The practice of applying it to children to reduce fevers was discontinued after infants went into comas and died following repeated rubdowns. The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) gave isopropyl alcohol a toxicity rating of 4.
Propylene glycol is a petroleum-based chemical widely used in many products such as antifreeze, processed foods, and medications. Exceptionally irritating to the skin, eyes, and lungs for some people, the EWG rates its toxicity level from 4 to7.
Tocopheryl acetate-a synthetic form of vitamin E, is a skin toxicant with an EWG toxicity rate of 4.
Alcohol Free Hand Sanitizers
Alcohol-free hand sanitizers don’t seem to be any safer as the following two commonly used ingredients pose serious safety concerns.
Benzalkonium chloride has been implicated as the leading cause of occupational asthma and chronic dermatitis in janitorial and healthcare workers.
Triclosan, a petrochemical antibacterial, have been shown to produce a variety of hormonal issues. It has been linked to allergies asthma, eczema, and resistance to a range of antibiotics used for treating infectious disease, one potential contributor to the evolution of superbugs.
Two preservative ingredients common to antibacterial soaps and cleansers which pose particular dangers: triclosan and triclocarban. Triclosan, an active ingredient in many cosmetics and personal care products, including nearly half of all commercial antibacterial soaps, deodorants, detergents, toothpastes, and mouthwashes. Triclosan and its chemically related cousin triclocarban have been shown to produce a variety of hormonal effects, including on the development of the thyroid gland in tadpoles and on sex ratios and fin length in fish. In humans, this preservative chemical has been linked to allergies, asthma, and eczema. More importantly, in its role as an antibacterial, it has been directly linked to increasing resistance to a range of antibiotics commonly used for treating infectious disease, one potential contributor to the evolution of superbugs. Triclosan was found in umbilical cord samples collected by Greenpeace International and Britain’s WWF. Surveys in Sweden have also found triclosan in the breast milk of 60 percent of women.
Just since 2000, more than 1,500 new antibacterial products have entered the marketplace. In 2006 study, John Hopkins University researchers found that 75 percent of the bacteria killing ingredients found in these products survive waste water treatment processes and end up contaminating waterway or the sewage sludge that is commonly spread on farm fields. These ingredients accumulate in soil and water (and perhaps in human bodies) and help create super germs resistant to antibiotics. Indeed, water testing studies by the U.S. Geological Survey have found that triclosan and triclocarban are among the top ten persistent contaminants in U.S. rivers, streams, lakes, and underground aquifers.
Triclosan, which is also a hormone disrupter, is present in many liquid soaps. At Virginia Tech University, a team of researchers in April 2005 reported that some toothpastes and soaps create a chloroform gas when the triclosan in these products reacts with chlorinate water. Chloroform is known to cause liver problems, depression, and cancer if inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Even more troubling evidence has emerged about the health impacts of triclocarban, which is used in bar soaps, deodorants, toothpaste, and even baby toys. A study published in the science journal Endocrinology in late 2007, revealed that this chemical too, is also a hormone disrupter; feeding triclocarban to test rats resulted in abnormally enlarged prostate glands.
Triclosan also produces a class of persistent, highly toxic, carcinogenic chemicals known as dioxins-an ingredient in the Agent Orange defoliant used by the U.S. in the Vietnam War. In 2005, an advisory panel to the FDA concluded that triclosan and triclocarban posed “unacceptable health and environmental risks,’ but the FDA hierarchy still ignores this conclusion and its implications. Toxic Beauty Dr. Samuel Epstein
Considering that the American Cancer Society reported that only 5 to 10% of cancer is genetic, while the other 90-95% is in our control, makes what we allow into our homes, and on our skin, a top priority.
Importance of Using Essential Oils Everyday
This is why it is so important to protect and support our bodies with the essential oils that God has given us for our health. Oils contain protective properties from the plant’s natural defense mechanism giving them their therapeutic properties for our bodies.
“The ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity) assay is a laboratory procedure developed in 1992 at the National Institutes of Aging (NIA) in Silver Springs, Maryland. The ORAC scale has been adopted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), who in cooperation with Scientists at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, has recently applied the ORAC Assay to measure the antioxidant capacities of many foods, juices, and oils. The higher the ORAC score, the more capable that particular food or oil is of destroying free radicals, thus retarding the aging process and preventing cancers and other diseases.”
Antioxidant (ORAC) Scores for Selected Fruits and Vegetables
- Carrots 210
- Oranges 750
- Beets 840
- Raspberries 1,220
- Strawberries 1,540
- Blueberries 2,400
- Wolfberries 25,300
Antioxidant (ORAC) Scores for Selected Essential Oils
- Sandlewood (Aloes) 160
- Frankincense 630
- Rose of Sharon (Cistus) 3,860
- Cinnamon 10,340
- Spikenard 54,800
- Myrrh 379.800
- Clove 1,078,700
“The contrast in the two sets of figures is striking. Chinese wolfberries are the highest scoring food in the world while Clove is the highest scoring essential oil which is 40 times more potent as an antioxidant than wolfberries, 450 times more than blueberries, and 5,000 times more than carrots. Most essential oils score higher than most fruits and vegetables. In fact, essential oils have the highest ORAC scores of all the substances in the world. For example, an ounce of Clove Oil has the antioxidant capacity of 320 pounds of carrots, 28 quarts of blueberries, and 10 gallons of beet juice.” Healing Oils of the Bible by David Stewart Ph.D.
I am so grateful to Young Living for their 25-year investment in research, farms, and the plants God has given us for wellness. As the world leader in producing and guaranteeing 100% pure, genuine therapeutic grade essential oils, I trust their products for my family. I especially appreciate Young Living’s Thieves Essential Oil and their Thieves Cleaner which contain the powerful ingredients of Clove bud oil (ORAC rating of 1,078,700), Citrus Lemon Peel Oil (660), Cinnamon Bark Oil (7,100), Eucalyptus Radiate Leaf Oil, and Rosemary Leaf Oil (330), without the additions of dangerous or synthetic ingredients.
Thieves Household Cleaner
Since I use our Thieves Cleaner spray bottles all the time throughout the day, I keep one in the kitchen and one in each bathroom.
To make spray bottles of this cleaner, I place one capful of Thieves Cleaner in our spray bottle that has been filled with filtered, distilled, or well water and use to spray down sinks, counters, door handles, toilets, floors… I even use it to wash my windows.
I also keep cleaners in our vehicles made from the following recipes to use when we are away from our home.
Spray Bottle 1/4 t salt; 10 drops of Thieves oil; shake; fill bottle with water; shake again.
For Squeeze Bottles
Gel Cleaner 3 T Aloe Vera Gel; ¼ t Vitamin E Oil (preservative); 10 drops of Thieves oil; shake bottle.
Lighter Gel Cleaner 5 T Aloe Vera Gel; ¼ t Vitamin E Oil; whisk; 8-10 dopes of Thieves oil; add a little water to get to consistency that you want; funnel into bottle; makes 3oz.
Foaming Hand Soap Our YL leader, Carol Littmann, makes her own foaming hand soap filling 1/3 of a pump dispenser with unscented Castile liquid soap (about 1 cup), 1/3 distilled water, and 5-20 drops of Thieves Essential Oil. If you were making this for shampoo, you could drop in your favorite scented YL oils. We stretch our Young Living Shampoo and make it foamier by adding it to a bottle with equal parts of Castile liquid soap.