Hand sanitizer has been pushed massively as a way to protect people from unwanted infection-causing germs. But this recommendation is short-sited for a number of reasons.
First, it ignores the impact of killing all germs on the beneficial germs that we want on our hands, making our hands very susceptible to developing skin issues.
Many hand sanitizers also contain harmful chemicals, like triclosan. If you’re exhausted by hearing that yet another thing that we’re told to do for our health is actually harmful, use the precautionary principle. Just assume that introducing new chemicals and new practices that do not take our evolutionary biology into consideration will likely have unknown, harmful effects and proceed with caution.
In the meantime, wash your hands with good old fashioned soap and water and reserve hand sanitizer for hygiene emergencies.
