Making up alcohol based hand cleansing gel

[JayCeeDee]

With the general shortage of alcohol based hand gels ( the recommended first line of defence along with greater hand washing ) currently being experienced both in shops and on-line, do any of the more knowledgeable among us have any advice for combining better available products such as hand cleaning gel or anti-bac gel and mixing some form of alcohol or similar ingredient to produce the same effect??

I’ve seen a few examples online, but all come with warnings. Are those warnings purely there to protect the people advising, or are the alternative risks of using a less effective product greater??

Any and all input appreciated.

[RSB]

Susana Reed on GMB came up with her concoption which was approved by Dr. Hilary. How ever I can not remember the measurments. It was Vodka, Allo Vera oil, and essential fragent oils or something a like.

However the Dr also made it clear you would be better of washing your hands more frequent through the day than using any anti-bacterial gell.

Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!

[RSB]

P.S I think the additional ingriedient are just there for making soft and pretty smelling hands. Just cheep vodka will do 🙂 Time to get a distilery set up in the cellar. I am typing this as the fire brigade are the at the opisite house checking for damage after pulling people out. I wonder if there disitilary when wrong 🙂 P.s No was injured what so ever. All them flashing lights have give me a banging headache.

Romanians and others get absolutly smashed beyond belief round here so I suspect that had somthing to do with it. They were arguing at the top of there voices as usual.

God I need my Narrowboat.

Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!

[JayCeeDee]

RSB wrote:

However the Dr also made it clear you would be better of washing your hands more frequent through the day than using any anti-bacterial gell.

It’s more for when we are out and about away from home – food, medicines, etc. For keeping in the car and handbag for use after leaving shops and the like.

[PlaneMan]

Because of my ongoing hand issues I can’t use soap and have been advised to avoid generic hand sanitizers (like the one in the gym, big container with no ingredients listed).

I’m carrying one of these around with me. Mines on prescription though.

No idea if it’s as effective as sanitizers but it may be an option due to being antimicrobial.

[Ed P]

There are a few hand sanitizers in the stores, but if you cannot get them then use IPA instead of gin/vodka. It should be cheaper per litre although there are some gougers on Amazon. It used to be about £6-8 per litre, but now it is double that. If you jibe at paying that much, get  together with a few friends to buy in 5litre qualities.

The formula for a IPA mix is given here:

Aloe Vera gel is nearly 100% water. The optimum mix for virus busting is 70% pure alcohol/IPA and 30% water. Substitute Aloe Vera for water to meet your desired amount of gloopiness,

We are keeping a cloth soaked in IPA in a zip-lock near the front door to wipe down hands, masks etc then return to bag. We are also going back to the days of linen handkerchiefs rather than having to scrabble for bits of kleenex in pockets or handbags. Binning tissues is really only practical if at home/car, imo..

[RSB]

Is there a special hand gel people are buying? I looked asda groceries while planning my shopping list for anti-bacterial hand gel and there are many brands for next to nothing. 2 for £1.80 as an example. So, am I looking for the wrong stuff?

Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!

[Ed P]

Look to see if the main ingredient is alcohol or what they term in Pharma-speak Alcohol Denat (denatured undrinkable alcohol). Its no guarantee that it has the necessary 60-70% alcohol, but alcohol is cheap so it probably meets the requirement.

I’m much less certain of the fatty alcohols that they use in dermatological products, as the alcohol has to dehydrate the virus skin in order to then burst the virus. In fact I would guess that they are pretty ineffective as they try not to dry human skin. That is NOT a definitive statement, just an educated guess on my part.

Planeman I suggest you write in to the manufactures of the product you use and ask if it kills the common flu virus as that is a close enough analogue of covid-19. Try covid-19 but they will say they do not know, as it is untested.

[Ed P]

Going back to the home-made stuff. I tried the recipe I posted earlier, but it is SO gloopy I found it difficult to transfer to a squeeze bottle. I’d suggest possibly a better mix is 3 parts Aloe Vera, 3 parts water and 14 parts IPA.

[RSB]

https://groceries.asda.com/search/anti-bacterial%20hand

There is a few there. Some sold out and some not. I’ll let you look, im tired now 😉

 

Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!

[RSB]

I’m sticking with vindaloo and not going out. 🙂 Best stock up on toilet roll to 🤔😂

Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!

[JayCeeDee]

Aloe gel can be got, at an increased, but not stupid price – will THIS type of IPA do the job; it’s 99.9% ( proof? )- can you adjust the proportions to the seemingly more usual ( and gentler ) 70% ( proof? )??

[Ed P]

To answer the IPA question – yes the 99% is the ideal

Yes you can just dilute to 70% if you want to use as a spray on its own, and 70% is the ideal virus killing concentration

Aloe Vera Gel can be assumed to be 100% water., so you can mix and match with tap water to make up the 30% diluant. As I said in the previous post, I found 30% gel to be too gloopy.

I’d recommend you borrow a cook-shop teaspoon measure and try your own mixes. e.g. 7 teaspoons of 99% IPA, 1 teaspoon Aloe Vera gel, 2 teaspoons of tap water and see if it meets your needs. As long as you keep the IPA bit at 70% you can adjust proportions of the other two to suit your needs.

Before SWMBO goes ape, just wash the measure in soapy water and it can go back to its normal duty. Although you should NEVER drink Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA), a wash in water is all that is needed to clean the measure. Aloe Vera is not poisonous, and is quite a benign skin hydrator.

 

[JayCeeDee]

Ed P wrote:

To answer the IPA question – yes the 99% is the ideal Yes you can just dilute to 70% if you want to use as a spray on its own, and 70% is the ideal virus killing concentration

 

Cheers, Ed, that’s the info I was after.

They don’t make it simple when the same thing seemingly goes by various names, rubbing, cooking, degreasing, etc!!

 

Aloe Vera is not poisonous, and is quite a benign skin hydrator.

The wife has very sensitive/reactive skin so has sworn by aloe vera gel since we discovered it in Florida in the early 90’s.

[RSB]

I am telling all you people, Vindaloo! Thehottest most deadliest spiciest you can find.

Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!

[Ed P]

Yorkshire obviously has a limited range of curry houses!

Phall (sometimes Faal) curry takes no prisoners and can leave you with a two day after-burn if you know what I mean. Best of all it is a British curry that originated in Birmingham. Iirc Jason participated in a Phall curry eating competition, or maybe that was something else. When making Phall you are supposed to use Scotch Bonnets or habanero not wimpy little prik num chillies!

Phall Curry

[Bob Williams]

Like PM, I cannot use soap or gels, I have had a non-infectious/non-contagious dermatological condition since hitting puberty.*  I was diagnosed in circa 1982 by a dermatologist in Nottingham QMC, as suffering from a bug resident in lymph glands which could not be killed. He took samples, checked and sent them off to (iirc) Charing Cross as the centre for tropical disease at that time. Apparently the bug chooses hair follicles as a nice warm growth medium and I have millions of those, being part-Neanderthal.

The derma guy prescribed washing my whole body in Hibiscrub, which is the pink stuff that surgical teams scrub up with. Until I began using it, I had been suffering regular outbreaks of boils and carbuncles, usually started by the work I did in aircraft and motor engineering. A hair follicle would become infected and I had the most gruesome objects erupt from hands and arms, (even my knuckles and backs of my hands are hairy) sometimes causing the temporary loss of use in a limb or hand. From then on, I have never had a bath, only a daily shower, head to toe, as recommended by the Sri Lankan Dermatologist. I have never had another problem and I can get through 5 litres of the stuff about every two or three weeks, as I have to wash my hands with it. I can wash hands in an alcohol- based scrub at, says the GP, but only occasionally as it dries up and cracks my skin.

I have asked my GP about Covid-19 and washing. His advice is that Hibiscrub will work better than any antibacterial gel, and to use alcohol if possible where I don’t have Hibiscrub.

*Yes I can remember it, although it is over 6 decades ago! The memory of all those monster skin eruptions is still with me. It caused me a great deal of embarrassment at times too.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Ed P]

London School of Tropical Medicine – I knew a Prof there at one time. Luckily never professionally!

[Bob Williams]

I should have added that the boils during my youth were probably the result of being involved with engines from about 8 years old, with my big brother. Started out as cheap labour for him*, wound up learning more than him and in my later years I maintained whatever motor he ran.

*”Pass that spanner. NO that one! Now hold this.”

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Author]

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