How many times have you seen it? A small bottle of hand sanitizer attached to a mom’s purse, diaper bag or even a kid’s backpack. Moms whip it out frequently when they’re on the go ““ after meals, before meals, before getting into the car, after touching something in public. They line their kids up and squirt a dime-sized amount of the liquid into each child’s hand, moving down the line until everyone’s hands, including their own, are covered.
But are they using it too much? And, can hand sanitizer actually prevent a child’s immune system from fighting off infection?
Yes and yes.
Studies in recent years have linked an increase in allergies and autoimmune problems among children to parents’ efforts to keep their kids germ-free.
In fact, using hand sanitizer all the time is limiting kids’ exposure and a little exposure is a good thing, said Dr. Meghan Markovich, an internal medicine physician and pediatrician with St. Elizabeth Physicians.
The bacteria our kids come in contact with on an everyday basis when we let them “be kids” is good for their immune systems. “If your child drops a Cheerio on the table, let him or her go ahead and eat it,” she said.
But that doesn’t mean hand sanitizer doesn’t have its place.
Markovich recommends using sanitizer in situations when soap and water aren’t readily available, such as before touching a newborn, after changing a diaper or before an on-the-go snack time.
She adds that when you do reach for the bottle, keep in mind that you should only buy hand sanitizers that contain at least 60% alcohol; hand sanitizers with lower concentrations of alcohol aren’t as effective. And, remember that hand sanitizer isn’t perfect. There are certain germs it isn’t effective against, such as norovirus and Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, both diarrheal infections.
