Day 231: The World's Best Hand Sanitizer

Sunday, April 27, 2008 - We have recently found our favorite hand sanitizer... and believe me, we've become hand sanitizer aficionados in the last 231 days! Mady's life could (literally) depend on the stuff.

First the runners-up:


The also-rans include the original Cal Stat Plus, which we learned to love/hate during those first 40 inpatient days at MGH (see Day 18).



Purell, which I've had on my desk for over a year now. To keep us all healthy, my office provides it in all our conference rooms. (we are sooo much more productive when we're not sick!)




Germ-X, the big bargain of the group at 32 oz. for less than $5 at Walgreens. We've also used a crappy off-brand (not pictured) that my office gave away at a recent conference.



The Cal Stat has the MGH market sewn up and has a baby-powder scent that Chris likes, but it now makes me gag. In my office, we joke that our Purell smells like a refreshing Vodka and Tonic (mmmmmmm). Germ-X is pretty much just inexpensive Purell (but it smells like cheap vodka... definitely not Ketel One!) and when we first got back from MGH Chris cleaned out the entire supply from Walgreen's throughout the Northeast. The give-away stuff? Don't ask.

What's the best hand sanitizer in the world? The unanimous choice in our house is EO's Organic Lavender. It contains organic alcohol, organic lavender oil, organic jojoba oil, and it smells really great. Oh, did I mention it's organic too? It doesn't dry out your hands (thank you jojoba), but it might be a little too pungent for some (we like it that way).

By the way, as with all alcohol-based sanitizers, you need to use enough so that your hands are wet with the stuff for at least 15 seconds to be effective against germs.

If you're interested in trying some EO (Essential Oil, I just got that), I've found the best prices (and great service) at Omni Supplements...

And now, a tiny bit of Mady news...
Last Thursday, the doctors were unable to give Mady the scheduled lumbar puncture. This time it wasn't a blood count issue... they simply couldn't penetrate the needle into her spine, and after several tries they postponed the procedure to next week. This was a long and scary day from Chris' point of view, and she came home exhausted. Clinic days are tough on both of them...