‘No alcoholic hand gel allowed’ at secondary school!?

[madametomato]

Just that really - my DCs have told me they aren’t allowed to bring their own hand gel with alcohol in it!

I am about to ring the school and clarify- but I think this is ridiculous and plain wrong! Apparently they are allowed antibac wipes (where will they put the used wipe??)

Interested what other schools doing and any official research/advice to schools

We can't have alcohol hand gel in science labs due to safety if Bunsens are used. A blanket ban is easier (lab tech and this is the official cleapps advise)d

Both my children take alcohol hand gel into school. If you need it as an alternative I did buy some anti viral hand foam from boots.

Pfft. Just buy a small travel bottle of non alcohol one, empty, refill with a decent 80% alcohol one. Much safer. Or keep the non alcohol one for science lab days.

I thought non alcoholic one were pants?

You need 70 percent alcohol to kill covid, so they should definitely be using it. I’d suggest just refill a normal bottle with the alcohol stuff.

Those refilling......did you not understand what the lab tech said upthread?

Potential health and safety issue

Our school it is compulsory to have hand gel and use at the start and end of each lesson when moving between classrooms.

They aren’t doing any science practicals this term at our school so I don’t think this will be an issue. We certainly haven’t been advised not to use it.

We were told the school are doing their best to keep the dispensers filled, but please send a small bottle for them to keep in their bag.

No science practicals this term, so maybe things will changes once they are able to do them again.

But most schools aren’t doing any science practicals anyway at the moment?

In my country the head of the poisons unit came on the news to warn everyone not to allow their children to bring alcohol gel into school.

Wow I would clarify it ours is the opposite all hold based gel must be supplied and used by students before each lesson

My dd has always had alcohol gel in her bag, well before Covid. Hopefully the hygiene of the hand washing facilities has improved now that we have all learned how to wash our hands.

I've worked in at least three secondary schools in which some numpty lads would try drinking it. Maybe they're trying to avoid that?

And we've just had mail saying kids MUST take it in !

We dont have to take our own in but ds says its at entrance to every building and classroom and they have to use upon entering and leaving the classroom so no need to take in there own
Would assume in all toilets as well but ds never uses school toilets even in normal times if he can help it

Mine has to take it in.

Science practicals aren't happening.

My 6 year old has a bottle attached to each bag and has another for her workstation

DDs high school want everyone to use their sanitiser on entering the school and at the start of each lesson plus wipes for the desks. As they have provided for all they have asked people not to use their own, could it be something similar?

My 2 take their own

Mine take their own to use when getting off the bus. But the school have bottles for everyone to use at most doorways

It doesn’t have to have 70% alcohol in to make it effective there are other alternatives. The messages would have been too complicated for the general public if all options were given - 70% or over is a nice simple message.
We’ve started to use an alcohol free one from Scrubbingtons.

@Idontgiveagriffindamn

It doesn’t have to have 70% alcohol in to make it effective there are other alternatives. The messages would have been too complicated for the general public if all options were given - 70% or over is a nice simple message. We’ve started to use an alcohol free one from Scrubbingtons.

I didn’t know that. Thanks.

There’s this one too, having googled
www.boots.com/nilaqua-alcohol-free-hand-sanitiser-70ml-10231790

My children are at two different schools and both have listed handgel as something that parents should be providing, in addition to that provided at school.

My 14 year old has carried hand gel in her schoolbag since she was a small child. She has OCD tendencies (properly diagnosed, not just that she likes things to line up and match) and if she didn't have her handgel safety blanket she would starve herself all day and wouldn't be able to go into or out of a room as she would be so afraid of touching the door handles.

As science labs all have sinks wouldn't it be more practical and safer to get all the pupils to wash their hands with soap and water at the start of the lesson?

Alcohol free hand gels are effective against e-coli, MRSA and some viruses, but are far less effective at destroying the envelope protein that protects covid-19. Washing hands with soap is the most effective method of staying safe, but alcohol-based hand sanitisers (with at least 60% alcohol) are a practical alternative when soap and water aren’t available.

We place hand handsanitisers in public places and had to replace with non alcohol ones because of people drinking them. One many was badly affected by it