Are hand sanitizers still effective, or are they weakening our immunity to things like the flu.

 

Are hand sanitizers still effective, or are they weakening our immunity to things like the flu.

Everyone is using hand sanitizers. They are everywhere. Many people have become so phobic about germs, that they keep them in their purse, will avoid shaking someones hand that their obsession may be more harmful than helpful.

If hand sanitizers are so effective, why is this years flu season so abundant?

Our immune systems develop and continue to strengthen by having reactions to many things we come in contact with. Many bugs cause a reaction, often that day or so that you are maybe alittle ill or off while it fights off the bug and builds your future immunity. Avoiding these reactions makes for future illnesses because your body reacts less, and have fewer reasons to fight the next bug. Have you ever wondered why some people are always sick with something, while others are rarely ill? Many parents find out that the bugs their children bring home are horrific when they contract them but as they are exposed to more and more of these through their children, they get sick less if they have a healthy immune system. The bottom line is that germaphobes are setting themselves up for difficulties fighting future illnesses.

Do hand sanitizers have a place? Of course, you should use them in certain instances however, in moderation. Check out this article that makes some great points on this.

Hand sanitizer spread faster than the flu

America seems to have maxed out on the germ-fighting gel

The flu may be spreading quickly this season, but if sales of hand sanitizer are any indication, germaphobia has already infected every corner of America.

The nation’s hands are saturated with the ethyl-alcohol-based bacteria beater, studies show. Hand sanitizer sales totaled $173.5 million in 2012, up less than 1% versus the year before, according to SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago, Ill.-based market research firm. That figure, which accounts for purchases made at supermarkets, drug stores and mass market, hasn’t budged much in several years. The big exception was 2009, when the swine-flu outbreak prompted sales to spike to $301 million. “We would have to see something pretty dramatic for hand sanitizers to reach those levels again,” says Josh Green, CEO of Panjiva, a company that tracks imports of consumer products.

Though it only first came onto the market in 1996, and the rows of 2-ounce plastic bottles have displaced chewing gum in many checkout aisles, sales growth appears to have stalled, according to a recent survey by Global Industry Analysts, a San Jose, Calif.-based market research firm. Going forward, sales are expected to increase modestly to just over $226 million by 2018, the report says.

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