(NaturalHealth365)  How many of you have ever taken advantage of the free hand sanitizer that cashiers leave at the checkout counter?  How many of you keep a bottle in your car or purse for a quick squirt before sitting down to a meal?  While your intent may be in the right place – to kill harmful bacteria and viruses that you may come in contact with in your day-to-day life – you could suffer an unintended consequence, according to a scientific paper.  Specifically, your handy hand sanitizer could increase the amount of BPA absorbed through your skin.

Recent research highlights even more concerns, particularly for children.  Their study reveals that chemical-based hand sanitizers pose risks such as skin irritation, hypoglycemia, and acidosis and may also contain harmful contaminants such as methanol, benzene, and acetaldehyde. 

These contaminants can have toxic effects through ingestion, inhalation, or dermal absorption.

Using hand sanitizer makes it easier for a harmful chemical to get into your bloodstream, research shows

Conventional hand sanitizer usually contains about 65-90% alcohol along with other chemicals, many of which are potentially harmful in their own right.  In a paper published in PLOS One, the researchers discovered that people who used hand sanitizer and then touched receipts had significantly higher blood serum and urine levels of another harmful chemical, BPA.

Specifically, hand sanitizer use was associated with a 100-fold increase in BPA absorption.  Why is this so?

It turns out that skin care products like hand sanitizers are explicitly designed to make the skin more permeable.  So every time you pump a bit of the product into your palm, you’re potentially opening the gates to toxic chemicals … even if most (though never all) of the germs on you will be killed.

Sounds like a tough trade-off.

The serious problem with BPA and a few tips for keeping your hands clean without the need for hand sanitizers

In case you don’t remember, BPA (bisphenol A) is a chemical found in plastics and can easily leech into the products they contain – water, food, infant formula, etc.

Here’s why we don’t want BPA in our bodies:

The chemical is a known endocrine disruptor, which means it mimics and/or disrupts the function of key chemical messengers in the body, including estrogen.  This can lead to everything from reproductive health issues to bone health issues.

In fact, animal and human research has linked BPA exposure to issues like cognitive impairments, male and female infertility, and impotence.  Of course, communicable bacteria and viruses can also harm your health, and it’s well-established that healthier hands mean healthier bodies.

So, what’s a health-conscious consumer to do?

First, wash your hands with soap and water whenever possible, especially if your hands are visibly dirty.  This tried-and-true practice is still deemed the best way to reduce the spread of germs.

If you can, opt for natural soaps and skin care products that are gentle on your skin, effective, and free of harmful additives like parabens and phthalates.  These additives can also disrupt hormone function or even increase the risk of cancer.

And if you’re out shopping, consider asking for an emailed-only receipt.

Editor’s note: The best way to remove phthalates is to sweat.  Discover a way to own your own at-home personal sauna to remove unwanted toxins safely and effectively.

Sources for this article include:

NIH.gov
Newsweek.com
PLOS.org
NIH.gov
CDC.gov