This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/smarter-living/wirecutter/coronavirus-hand-sanitizer.html
The article has changed 17 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Coronavirus Has Caused a Hand Sanitizer Shortage. What Should You Do? | Coronavirus Has Caused a Hand Sanitizer Shortage. What Should You Do? |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Alarm over coronavirus has caused a run on hand sanitizers. And now, sanitizers from Purell and other brands are exceedingly hard to come by. Where it isn’t sold out, enterprising sellers are charging outrageously inflated prices simply because they can. If you don’t have any hand sanitizer, you’re not likely to get some while the manufacturers create enough supply to meet the frenzied demand caused by panic over coronavirus. (To be clear, we don’t think anyone should panic.) | Alarm over coronavirus has caused a run on hand sanitizers. And now, sanitizers from Purell and other brands are exceedingly hard to come by. Where it isn’t sold out, enterprising sellers are charging outrageously inflated prices simply because they can. If you don’t have any hand sanitizer, you’re not likely to get some while the manufacturers create enough supply to meet the frenzied demand caused by panic over coronavirus. (To be clear, we don’t think anyone should panic.) |
| While using hand sanitizer is a smart way to slow and prevent the spread of viruses, keep in mind that washing your hands thoroughly with soap is more effective than using hand sanitizer. (Here’s a fun list of choruses that work from Twitter if you don’t want to sing “Happy Birthday” to reach at least 20 seconds of handwashing.) But if you’re on a train and a sudden lurch forces you to grab a pole, we can understand wishing for a squirt of something purifying while you’re enclosed for the rest of your trip. So what do you do if you can’t get your hands on the most popular hand sanitizers? In collaboration with Wirecutter, a product review website owned by the New York Times, here’s our advice: | While using hand sanitizer is a smart way to slow and prevent the spread of viruses, keep in mind that washing your hands thoroughly with soap is more effective than using hand sanitizer. (Here’s a fun list of choruses that work from Twitter if you don’t want to sing “Happy Birthday” to reach at least 20 seconds of handwashing.) But if you’re on a train and a sudden lurch forces you to grab a pole, we can understand wishing for a squirt of something purifying while you’re enclosed for the rest of your trip. So what do you do if you can’t get your hands on the most popular hand sanitizers? In collaboration with Wirecutter, a product review website owned by the New York Times, here’s our advice: |
| Do wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. This is the smartest thing you can do to prevent the spread of viruses. | Do wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. This is the smartest thing you can do to prevent the spread of viruses. |
| Do make sure that if you are able to buy a lesser-known brand of hand sanitizer, it’s made of at least 60% alcohol, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (C.D.C.) That rules out some of the so-called “botanical” options and popular kid-friendly options. | Do make sure that if you are able to buy a lesser-known brand of hand sanitizer, it’s made of at least 60% alcohol, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (C.D.C.) That rules out some of the so-called “botanical” options and popular kid-friendly options. |
| Do make sure that if you decide to try and make your own hand sanitizer, it also contains at least 60% alcohol. This recipe (two parts rubbing alcohol, one part aloe) sounds like it should achieve 60% alcohol. Keep in mind that some recipes call for using liquor (like vodka), which is usually 40% alcohol, and might not reach the threshold you need. For instance, Tito’s Vodka has been urging people not to use its product in DIY sanitizer solutions. | Do make sure that if you decide to try and make your own hand sanitizer, it also contains at least 60% alcohol. This recipe (two parts rubbing alcohol, one part aloe) sounds like it should achieve 60% alcohol. Keep in mind that some recipes call for using liquor (like vodka), which is usually 40% alcohol, and might not reach the threshold you need. For instance, Tito’s Vodka has been urging people not to use its product in DIY sanitizer solutions. |
| Do dry your hands before applying any hand sanitizer. A 2019 study published in the American Society for Microbiology’s publication, mSphere, found that wet mucus protected the influenza A virus, rendering hand sanitizer less effective. | Do dry your hands before applying any hand sanitizer. A 2019 study published in the American Society for Microbiology’s publication, mSphere, found that wet mucus protected the influenza A virus, rendering hand sanitizer less effective. |
| Don’t rely on DIY recipes based solely on essential oils. They won’t work. | Don’t rely on DIY recipes based solely on essential oils. They won’t work. |
| Don’t be conservative with your sanitizer, even if you’re down to one small travel-size bottle. For it to work, you need to cover every surface of both hands entirely with the sanitizer and rub until dry, according to the C.D.C. | Don’t be conservative with your sanitizer, even if you’re down to one small travel-size bottle. For it to work, you need to cover every surface of both hands entirely with the sanitizer and rub until dry, according to the C.D.C. |
| Updated June 30, 2020 | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| Don’t use any hand sanitizer on greasy or dirty hands; it’s less effective, according to the C.D.C. | Don’t use any hand sanitizer on greasy or dirty hands; it’s less effective, according to the C.D.C. |
| Don’t assume all anti-bacterial wipes will do the job. Benzalkonium chloride, the active ingredient in Wet Ones, was found to be less effective than ethanol (as in alcohol, the active ingredient in some sanitizers), hydrogen peroxide, or sodium hypochlorite on coronaviruses in an analysis of 22 studies published in February 2020. | Don’t assume all anti-bacterial wipes will do the job. Benzalkonium chloride, the active ingredient in Wet Ones, was found to be less effective than ethanol (as in alcohol, the active ingredient in some sanitizers), hydrogen peroxide, or sodium hypochlorite on coronaviruses in an analysis of 22 studies published in February 2020. |
| Don’t expect baby wipes to work as well as handwashing or hand sanitizer. Baby wipes don’t have alcohol in them, and rubbing won’t remove germs from your hands the way simple soap and clean running water can. | Don’t expect baby wipes to work as well as handwashing or hand sanitizer. Baby wipes don’t have alcohol in them, and rubbing won’t remove germs from your hands the way simple soap and clean running water can. |
| Sign up for the Wirecutter Weekly Newsletter and get our latest recommendations every Sunday. | Sign up for the Wirecutter Weekly Newsletter and get our latest recommendations every Sunday. |
| A version of this article appears at Wirecutter.com. | A version of this article appears at Wirecutter.com. |