Are Hand Sanitizers Good For You? FDA Questions Their Safety And Effectiveness

The Food and Drug Administration is asking companies that manufacture hand sanitizer to provide them with additional information on how safe and effective their products are. This is not because the FDA thinks they're unsafe, they just want to make sure that there aren't unknown side effects because many people are using it.

According to The Washington Post, the colorful gels have become front line defenders against germs. Hand sanitizers in different colors are now commonly seen in schools, offices and hospitals. They are now known as an essential item in everyone's bags. Hand sanitizers were also given to people in West Africa to fight Ebola, and in South Korea against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

Hand washing is the universal precaution to prevent bacterial build up on the hands. Hand sanitizers that have more than 60 percent of alcohol in them can do about the same job as soap and water. However, since hand sanitizers aren't rinsed off, the active chemicals used to kill the germs stay on the hands as soon as the alcohol evaporates. Tech Insider reported that it's what the FDA wants to know more about: Do these ingredients, when used daily, have any negative effects on the people using them?

"It's our responsibility to determine whether these products are safe and effective so that consumers can be confident when using them on themselves and their families multiple times a day. To do that, we must fill the gaps in scientific data on certain active ingredients," Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

The FDA became interested in gathering information specifically about the repeated exposure and use hand sanitizers by children and pregnant women. It has observed that "emerging science" claimed that detection of antiseptic ingredient in the blood or urine is higher than what has previously thought in full body exposure, uk.businessinsider.com reported.

FDA's request is part of a large examination of 22 chemicals that fight bacteria and that set the $30 billion industry to turn their backs on some scientist groups that worry about the ingredients, which stays in the environment and may possibly be absorbed by the body, may not work the same way they are advertised and contribute to antibiotic resistance.

There have already been two major groups, the American Cleaning Institute and the Personal Care Products Council, which said they already have the data to show that their products are safe and effective. They also argued the idea that they're probably adding to making superbugs. The groups also said that scientific evidence shows that prescription antibiotics and animals people consume is the one causing these bacteria.

They have also said that prohibiting antibacterial soap, gels, wipes, and other sanitary tools would cause a serious risk in the public's health, which could lead to serious infections and may cause death.