To be stressed about lack of antibacterial hand gel in the shops?

[boredorboard]

School told us to provide DC with antibacterial hand gel for school. Went to every shop/chemist in town that normally sells this and all sold out. No info on restocks but unlikely as wholesalers have also sold out. Also looked online and have only been able to find some at a very high price on Amazon. So that's that then. We are going to have to rely on good old fashioned hand washing.

Wondering if there are any other products available with the magic 60% alcohol content we could use as an alternative? Any suggestions?

Superdrug have loads on their website for collection in store

Hand washing is better. Most anti bac gels will do nothing apart from contributing to anti bac resistance. This was the view of the expert researcher I heard on the radio this morning. If you must use gel it should be the 60% alc one but hand washing is still preferable.

I've got some you can have. £20.

Don’t worry too much - good old fashioned hand washing is incredibly effective. It’s the single most effective form of infection control there is - and a lot gentler on little hands.

Why is the school asking you to provide it? Not the nicest of stuff and only really necessary in hospitals (which is never a substitute for hand washing, more of an adjunct).

Unless they have the 60% alcohol content antibacterial gel isn't going to help with the virus.
This morning on Radio 4 they said thorough hand washing was better as many places use alcohol free gel as less drying. They did not suggest any alternative.

Aldi have loads by the till, but corona is a virus, not bacterial, so unless it's the 60% alcohol staff, you're better off just hand washing and teaching your DC to keep their hand away from their face so no nose picking, nail biting etc.

To answer:

I got excited on the Superdrug website but they don't have any to click and collect for me on their website and no stock for home delivery

School are saying if you cough or sneeze mid lesson you cannot shoot off to wash your hands so the ha d gel should be used until you can go the bathroom. Imagine the disruption if everyone was constantly rising in and out of class!

I think Ecohydra would be effective (it says so on their website). It doesn't contain alcohol and is much kinder to skin. It's currently sold out, but according to their website, they are expecting more stock soon.

It is worrying that we are told to use gel or whatever but then you cannot get it anywhere, not at a reasonable price anyway! My daughter is good at washing her hands at school, but some of her friends are terrible and need constant reminders. Or they go to the toilets and pretend to wash.

Oysterbabe - yes please and then hopefully I can sell it on to someone else for £50 😀

www.amazon.co.uk/Cuticura-Original-Anti-Bacterial-100ml/dp/B00F4L61O4/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?keywords=antibacterial+gel&sprefix=anti+bac&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1582887528&sr=8-8

?

Just wash your hands?!

Vodka works just as well

Nothing beats a proper hand wash. As pp have said it needs to be over 60% and I was under the impression it was viral not bacterial so I doubt hand gel will do much 🤷‍♀️

@boredorboard teach the children to cough into their elbow, not perfect, but better than using hands that cannot be cleaned

All the Coronavirus hygiene advice is the same as that recommended for the common cold virus to reduce transmission

www.sbs.com.au/topics/science/humans/article/2016/02/15/why-you-should-sneeze-your-elbow

Just wash your hands it's much more effective.

"School are saying if you cough or sneeze mid lesson you cannot shoot off to wash your hands so the ha d gel should be used until you can go the bathroom."

Shit advice. Just teach the kids to use tissues!

Tesco couldn't deliver hand gel.in my order last night, although it was in stock when I ordered Monday.

They did have anti bac hand wipes - not sure if those are any good?

Sometimes there isn't time to get a tissue before a cough or sneeze comes!

It is worrying that people might be relying on hand-gel that may be antibacterial but would be rubbish against a lot of viruses. It would give a false sense of security! For viruses, particularly COVID-19, a hand sanitiser with 60% alcohol or greater is recommended. This sort of stuff is generally only found in clinical settings/labs. (I have some which is 85%, which I use when we’re on public transport in London).

Thorough hand washing with hand-hot water and plenty of detergent is better than any gel you can buy in the shops. Until you can wash your hands, don’y touch your face and don’t eat with your hands.

Kids shouldn't be using tissues they should be coughing into their arms. If they use tissues they are likely to still get it onto their hands and then touch other things.

They need gel at school because of sneezing and coughing during lesson time and also they can't have hundreds of children all trying to queue to wash their hands thoroughly before lunch. It would be good if they could but I suspect there isn't time.

If you can't get over 60% alcohol content gel you can get surgical spirit or "rubbing alcohol" as some places call it. This can then be decanted into little spray bottles (although I suspect not long before kids start spraying them at each other and they get banned) or in theory you could add it to lower alcohol content gels.

Aldo and primark have both been quoted on MN as having stocks of gel with the right level of alcohol.

This Morning are about to address this now. Some woman telling us where we can buy it from lol luckily I have plenty as use it often since becoming pregnant

Peanut. The cuticular on Amazon. Is out of stock!

Just turned on Tv and at 11.45 on This Morning. Vanessa Feltz is going to be talking about the shortage and where to buy!

Sorry cross post. Shall we have a companionable cup of tea while we watch!?!

Many years ago for an A level Biology project, I tested out hand washing materials...
Hibiscrub surgical scrub hand wash performed the best in my experiment, but what astounded me, ordinary white bar soap performed next best...Better than the alcohol gels.
It seems the action of warm water and a good lather actually washes away bacteria and viruses...It was an eye opener for me...
Viruses like Norovirus vomiting bug aren't killed by these alcohol gels, either.
Good old fashioned hand washing... and use a tissue to turn the tap off with in a public bathroom.

good resource on Coronavirus preparation.

Why would an antibc gel work on a virus?