School using alcohol free sanitiser

[theriverrunsdeep]

Can anyone link me to any current guidance which would explain why a school would be using alcohol free hand sanitiser? Has the DfE issued anything to suggest this should happen?

It’s probably what they could get hold of

They are asking the children to all bring in sanitiser, but for it to be alcohol-free. Which seems to go against the WHO guidance for schools. Just wondered whether DfE had issued anything else?

Is there a high Muslim population?
Are they worried about the flammability of it?
Could they be worried about children ingesting it?

I’d be more interested to know whether the alternative is still effective against covid 19 than whether it is alcohol free, tbh. I have been told the alcohol gradually evaporates from alcohol-based gels, making them less effective over time to the point of no longer being effective (but they never indicate how long they are likely to be effective for, so far as I can see), so maybe the school have found something more stable?

We’ve had this issue in a school my MIL is a governor before. It’s apparently health and safety because the alcohol gets absorbed into the skin and then the bloodstream.

Anything containing less than 60% alcohol is not effective against covid-19. It will be good as an antibacterial cleaner but won't kill the virus.

@SpongeCake23

We’ve had this issue in a school my MIL is a governor before. It’s apparently health and safety because the alcohol gets absorbed into the skin and then the bloodstream.

For it to be absorbed into the skin to any level that is even a remote concern you would have to sit in a bath of it for days and days. It evaporates incredibly quickly from skin.

Is this true? Can a school be so spectacularly stupid? I do wonder sometimes at the intelligence of those who are supposed to be educators.

@Walkaround
Alcohol based gels should have an expiry date somewhere on the label. The one I have says 19/04/2024 so anything obtained since the pandemic started should be alright for the foreseeable.

Is it a primary or secondary school?

Our gym when it reopens is using alcohol free sanitiser. They’ve been called out on it on social media and they’re adamant it’s fine and kills coronavirus. David Lloyd.

@FlamingoAndJohn

Is there a high Muslim population? Are they worried about the flammability of it? Could they be worried about children ingesting it?

I teach in a school with a high Muslim population. No one has any issues with alcohol based hand sanitiser - they aren’t drinking it.

@theriverrunsdeep

Can anyone link me to any current guidance which would explain why a school would be using alcohol free hand sanitiser? Has the DfE issued anything to suggest this should happen?

Is there no information available via google?

Interestingly I saw alcohol free sanitizer in a shop today and wondered the same thing but then had a very vague memory of looking it up at the start of this and finding that some products do work.

Well worth an internet search I'd say

Strangely, I told School that my child couldn’t use their gel so would bring her own in and they asked about the alcohol content and they’re going to treat it as a medicine because of the alcohol content.

If you are using an alcohol based sanitizer it must be over 60% alcohol to kill viruses. They are cheap and effective.

Alcohol free sanitizers are more expensive as they use different chemicals but they are extremely effective and an excellent choice for schools where alcohol based products are not desirable.

I teach in a school with a high Muslim population. No one has any issues with alcohol based hand sanitiser - they aren’t drinking it.
It doesn't matter. Technically anything that contains alcohol is haram. Some Muslims may not strictly observe that, but many won't, for example, use perfume or after shave (if they shave at all) and mouth washes because they contain alcohol.

According to a quick Google, there are sanitisers that are effective and alcohol free.

@Shakirasma

If you are using an alcohol based sanitizer it must be over 60% alcohol to kill viruses. They are cheap and effective.

Alcohol free sanitizers are more expensive as they use different chemicals but they are extremely effective and an excellent choice for schools where alcohol based products are not desirable.

Are they all effective, the one I saw today was quite a bit cheaper than my normal one, maybe i should switch

The hand sanitizer we have in school smells like tequila and most definitely contains alcohol. I wonder what the reasoning is behind your place have non-alchohol.

My dd cannot use alcohol based sanitisers, she has chronic eczema and the alcohol stings and causes more harm as such her school are using alcohol free

I wouldn’t be happy. If they can’t or won’t use hand sanitiser with 60%+ alcohol, soap and hot water would be a better option.

Muslim leaders are saying you can use alcohol hand sanitizer. And even if they were not it's irrelevant use the best item for job.

You get alcohol free anti viral foams. Wonder if they are effective against covid 19

Can find guidance from WHO, CDC, FDA etc, but can't find any UK guidance, hence the question. The CDC say the non-alcohol versions are not as effective against Covid.
Secondary school. Doesn't have a high Muslim population.

It's an issue with flammability in your school..certainly in science

@SpookyNoise

The hand sanitizer we have in school smells like tequila and most definitely contains alcohol. I wonder what the reasoning is behind your place have non-alchohol.

The sanitiser they have in Ikea smells of Tequila. It smells vile.

Hand sanitisers that do not contain alcohol usually contain benzalkonium chloride instead. They kill bacteria by disrupting their membranes, but we still don’t know how effective they are against certain types of viruses. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention say this type of hand sanitizer is less reliable for tackling Covid-19 than those which are alcohol-based

^^ from The New Scientist