For preventing the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19 there is nothing better than social distancing, staying home and good old-fashioned handwashing.
Water and soap are the best option, according to the health experts but the next best is an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol.
Unless you have a stockpile of store-bought hand sanitiser, you will not find any at a store or online right now, except at exorbitant prices from profiteers trading on other people's misery. Stay clear of these companies. Remember them when this is all over. Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, most supermarkets & pharmacies can’t keep up with the demand for hand sanitiser.
The good news? All it takes is three ingredients to make your own hand sanitizer at home. Read on to find out how.
A word of warning though:
Hand sanitiser recipes, including the one below, are intended for use by professionals with the necessary expertise and resources for safe creation and proper utilization.
Only use homemade hand sanitisers in when handwashing with soap & water isn’t available.
Don’t use homemade hand sanitisers on children’s skin as they may be more prone to use them improperly, leading to a greater risk of injury.
Ingreients required:
Making your own hand sanitizer is easy to do and only requires a few ingredients:
*Isoproplyn is normally available from the First Aid section at supermarkets or from pharmacies.
The key to making an effective, germ-busting hand sanitizer is to stick to a 2:1 proportion of alcohol to aloe vera. This keeps the alcohol content around 60 percent. This is the minimum amount needed to kill most germs, according to health officials and the American CDC. They say that the hand sanitiser recipe below will kill 99 percent of germs after 60 seconds.
What you’ll need:
Directions:
With that in mind, here are some tips for using hand sanitiser effectively.
Homemade hand sanitiser is also not recommended for use with children. Children may be more prone to improper hand sanitiser usage, which could lead to greater risk for injury.
All of this information has been supplied by Healthline Media. Goody Goody Gumdrops Pty Ltd has published it in good faith as a help during this crisis and believes it to be accurate and true but does not accept responsibility if the published information is not correct.
© 2005-2020 Healthline Media - Text has been changed and adapted for an Australian audience.