Hand gel

I use it at work (hospital ward), but not anywhere else. I wash my hands a LOT throughout the day (they are sore and dry), and when I get home - I drive - but I haven't ever wiped my groceries, nor wiped a supermarket basket or trolley, a petrol pump, garage vacuum, etc. I don't believe any of it is necessary if I wash my hands as soon as I am able to.

As a retired chef I hate to see people serving in Delis etc wearing gloves, going from customer to customer even handling money. Gloves should only be worn if there is a cut or skin complaint.
Keeps your nails very short and wash hands as often as you can.
Oh and do not wear a mask just after eating garlic bread as I did yesterday after having lunch with DGS, yuck. A mint made it even worse.

I use gel when I’m out.

I’ve kept sanitiser and wipes in my bag for many years since we lived in developing counties that often had no running water. It became a habit so change there for me, really.

Btw, sanitisers do work on viruses, as long as they have the requisite amount of alcohol in them. That dissolves the fatty layer on the CV virus and destroys it.

Gloves only work if you change them frequently. If you touch a contaminated object with a gloved hand and then touch your face/bag/shopping/car door it transfers as effectively as with your bare skin.

Hospital staff don’t use the same gloves to go from patient to patient or task to task, they use new ones each time, washing their hands in between.

Gloves worn by Health care professionals are a once-only use. They are taken off and disposed off as soon as a patient is finished being attended to. In shops, people seem to have these gloves on as soon as they enter, touch everything, and then ( I assume) take them off when back in car. Seems a bit pointless to me - skin is just as good and does not give a false sense of security.

We wear gloves when out shopping. They can't be that useless given their extensive use by health care professionals. Once off I use the gel which I always carry. Lately I'm wearing a mask a bit more in the only shop I use but not every time.
Just a note- a friend warned about drinking cans of fizzy pop then wearing a mask--don't do it. Apparently, it's no fun when you burp into your mask

I recently managed to get larger hand gels on-line, so now I use both depending on circumstances, (wash hands or hand gel) I rarely go out so take hand gel in handbag. Occasionally wear gloves, but haven't really been able to get the small size so don't feel they are much help.

Soap and water is best at home, but when I'm and about I carry a small hand sanitiser in my handbag and use it every time I touch something.
I make sure it's an anti-virus one.

I much rather good old fashioned soap and hot water, always have done, I'm a stickler for this and I have always pestered my children and grandchildren with this practice! Obviously when you are out and about hand gel/wipes help.

I do both kitty we wear gloves. Gel when we take them off and wash when we get home.

As I said belt and braces??

It has become automatic really.

grannyrebel7 - your post could have been written by myself. I am in my very late 70's, have continued to do my own weekly Supermarket shop throughout. Get home, wash hands (soap and water), the unpack shopping and put away - wash hands again.

Most of the handgel is anti-bac - so has no effect whatsoever with regard to any virus. Cannot believe how OTT so many people are - changing clothes when they get home, wiping shoes with bleach, etc. etc.

I worry more about people wearing gloves in supermarkets, etc as do not think they can be as hygenic as skin as long as good hand washing procedures are followed.

I'm with grannyrebel lots of handwashing, no gel. I use bleach and water to wipe surfaces around the house. Don't touch my face or any surfaces if possible out of the house.

I agree kittylester and people dont always wash their hands when they take them off which you should. We dont wear them just hand gel and good old fashioned soap and water for preference.

Gloves are just skin as soon as you touch something. Better to wash your hands!!

We popped into an (empty) tile shop the other day, masks and gloves on, forgot I had gloves on used the stores hand sanitizer in the doorway, it shot all over my black top and I went to brush it off with my hands, forgetting I had gloves on, what a mess, I spread the blasted stuff everywhere.
Now it won’t wash out. Grrrr.

I find some gels more runny than others and end up with it trickling up my sleeve! The pump action ones in shops are good. I have wipes in the car for when I touch the petrol pump and card machines. Gloves are too fiddly.

Oh yes and wipes I forgot them in the car.

Belt and braces us ????

Well we’ve had one in the car for at least 10 years? so I think I shall carry on doing so.

We have a box of gloves in the car as well, plus a box of masks. Only done that since covid though.

We always use them if going into a store etc.

We are walkers though and just take ourselves walking with the dog?. Nothing like fresh air.

We also have gel and wipes in the car. We use the wipes for anything we have touched incof outside the car and then use the gel.

Gloves are useless in my view!

Yes always have gel with us to cope with any eventuality, such as using a cash machine. If in a shop, I carry it in to be used before I get in my car. If I drive to the park then it's in my car in case I've had to touch a gate for example, more often than not I don't touch anything whilst out walking. Thankfully gel can now be bought practically anywhere.

I just wish people would wear masks whilst doing a food shop, I hope that's made compulsory, I strongly believe there will be a second wave and if that happens I for one will be less relaxed about food shopping.

I think it depends on age demographic, understandably older people are more cautious and tend to do the right thing, like dropping into single file and trying to avoid others that's been my experience.

Keep a small bottle in my bag so use it every time after going in a shop or using any keypad eg cash machine. Use a disposable glove in certain cases too. Beware of leaving hand gel in a car if temperature gets hot- they can overheat and explode, allegedly!

No I don't use it other than in a shop where you get sprayed when you enter. I haven't wiped my shopping when I get it home or left anything for 72 hrs before touching either. I think all this is a bit OTT. What I always do though is make sure I wash my hands when I come back home and frequently throughout the day.

Yes we have a large one in the car which is used every time.

I have a small one in my handbag that I use if I’m out without the car, although that hasn’t really happened as I won’t use public transport atm and haven’t done much since February☹️

We have used gel for years to ward off winter bugs like flu. Nothing new to us.

So far so good?

Sorry it should of read bother. Do others use the gel outside home other than supermarket?