More From the So-Called Experts

Boy, sometimes I feel like a bit of a fool when I hear the latest health news, especially in light of the fact that I embrace whatever they say despite the fact that they are usually wrong, never agree with each other, and constantly do an about face and change their recommendations. Even then, I listen to them. What’s up with that?

We are sticklers over here for clean hands, and hand sanitize (HS) before meals. This makes sense, though we’ve always advocated washing hands if possible, and we never buy anti-bacterial soap. We just use the regular stuff. If you’re a parent, you can’t ignore the prevalence of allergies these days, and though there are many explanations, the one that seems to get a lot of press is the hygiene hypothesis. Tied to this is the excessive use of HS.

Now they are finding that one of the ingredients in HS is actually found in high levels in people with severe allergies. Great. Once again, technology is part of the problem. This inspired me to shift gears and find an alternative to HS. The answer: rubbing alcohol. I figure a quick spritz of alcohol will do the job, at least until the find that it is toxic, as well. The active ingredient in HS is ethanol or isopropanol anyway, so it’s close, without the nasty stuff.

Here we go again. We’ll see how this one goes. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Keith Syvinski for the pic.