Sanitizers Give the Upper Hand Against Colds

Dec. 5, 2007 — -- From kindergarten through middle and high school, many schools and classrooms now have an abundant supply of donated liquid hand sanitizers.

These antiseptic gels are quickly becoming an additional level of protection between students and ubiquitous viruses, which, especially during the wintertime cold and flu season, are present on a variety of common surfaces.

Even the kids seem to notice a difference.

"Since we starting using liquid hand sanitizer in our school, my classmates seem to be healthier, with fewer kids getting colds," said Dylan, a seventh grader at East Side Middle School in New York City.

And in many ways, these sanitizers offer a low-cost, low-tech solution to a common, potentially costly seasonal problem.

Hand sanitizers are gaining popularity, as they are portable, easy to use and perfect for places where there is no faucet and sink available for hand washing, such as in the subway or on a train. "Purell" is no longer just a product name; like Xerox and Windex, it has become a verb as well, describing the liquid sanitization of our hands.

Thus far, several studies over the past few years have suggested that hand sanitizers do limit the spread of germs. In a September 2005 study in the journal Pediatrics, researchers showed that families who used alcohol-based gels had a 59 percent lower rate of gastrointestinal illnesses -- which cause diarrhea and vomiting -- caused by germs spread from one family member to another.

Other research has focused more on the germs that cause common colds and the flu, tracking rates of school absenteeism among kids whose families use the products.

As for my New York City based allergy practice, I have personally observed that among my employees and co-workers who aggressively use gel-based alcohol sanitizers, there has been a change in successfully avoiding the vicious cycle of recurrent cold-like infections. The goal is to reduce transmission of a variety of viruses, including the common cold as well as gastrointestinal infections.