Hand Sanitiser Alternatives: To Protect From COVID -19

Thursday, March 26, 2020   News

In the past two weeks as the Coronavirus COVID-19 continues to spread, we’ve had heaps of questions about hand sanitiser.

• Where can I buy hand sanitiser?
• What can I use instead of hand sanitiser to disinfect my handsif I can’t find any hand sanitiser?
• When is hand sanitiser back in stock?

We are continually in touch with our suppliers around the country and unfortunately the news is not great. Many will not receive more stock until the middle of April. You may be able to go on a waitlist or back order stock. But you will have to wait.

In the meantime the best advice is that frequent and thorough hand washing is the most effective method of control – to kill Corona and stop the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19.

There are some alternatives to hand sanitiser (none of which are ideal!)

• Wipe your hands with a disinfectant wipe (or disposable cloth saturated with disinfectant) and allow to air dry.
• Hydrogen peroxide 3% is available in most chemists and is a great non-toxic alternative to chemical disinfectants.
• Ethanol 70% solution (also available at some chemists) is another alternative, although can be quite drying to hands.
• Disinfectant creams (such as Savlon) can also be used as a hand sanitiser, however leave your hands a bit sticky/greasy. Do not use before eating / preparing food as you do not want to ingest the residue.

Again, health advice is that proper hand washing is the best way to prevent the spread of the SARS-COV-2 virus. The Coronavirus is transmitted through the air and from surfaces and infection happens easily when you touch your face / mouth after touching an infected surface. Practice thorough hand washing (use soap and warm water, rub all surfaces vigorously for 20 seconds including front and back, wrist, all fingers, thumb, and under nails, dry with a disposable paper towel or disposable cloth); practice physical (social) distancing; stay at home if you can.

See the link below for more info:
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/hand-washing

Need songs to ensure you wash your hands for 20 seconds? (There’s only a couple of days a year we want to hear the Happy Birthday song… twice!) Here are some song suggestions that may help!

https://www.boredpanda.com/washing-hands-time-viral-tweet

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/coronavirus-best-20-second-songs-wash-your-hands

(For a variety of reasons, we’ll go with the chorus to Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’…)

Livin’ on a Prayer – You Tube video