Hand Sanitizer
We over-rely on it
To our detriment
This has been a bizarre time for many of us in Tennessee, as the area from Nashville to Cookeville and beyond was devastated by a series of F2 to F4 tornadoes on Super Tuesday, which I discovered is actually the fourth time that Tennessee's Super Tuesday primary elections have been disrupted by tornadoes.
So, just maybe, could we consider a different primary date?
All of the damage was north of us and we, and our animals, are fine.
We got a text from Marek's lead driver, who warned us that a tornado had just ripped through downtown Nashville, and was heading our way. About ten minutes later, we got the first in a series of severe tornado warnings on our cell phones, and went out on our front porch to be greeted with a lovely warm night, lots of frogs calling, vibrant stars, and distant thunderstorms to our west and north. All we got was some rain.
By contrast, many in Cookeville, twenty miles to our north, didn't get the tornado warnings until almost an hour after we did, and in many cases, the tornadoes were already upon them. Most of those who died in Tennessee were in Cookeville, and it was mostly from a failure of the tornado warning system, as they were simply not warned in time.
Additionally we have the ongoing news regarding COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that began in Wuhan, China, and thanks to the combined stupidity and inaction of our current administration, it has been allowed to continue unabated in the United States.
And it has freaked people out enough to empty store shelves of mundane items such as paper towels and toilet paper, even in an area like ours, which has at present very few known cases. When I went to the store a couple of days ago, it felt like Florida in 2004, staring down four oncoming hurricanes . . . but most of our current disaster has been manmade.
First, the Trump administration disbanded two separate global infectious disease task forces, one in the White House and another within the NSC, along with cutting general funding to the CDC, which seems to be another thing they simply got rid of because it was put into place by President Obama.
Who actually cared about our citizens, unlike the current resident of the White House.
And then, they turned down the WHO test kits, resulting in the sad fact that we STILL do not have the capability of testing even as many people daily as does a small country like South Korea.
Unbelievable. Screw ups on top of screw ups, and they're still lying about it continually. Congrats, guys, no one in their right mind believes a single word coming out of this administration. You've managed to destroy all credibility. Sigh.
Of course, the fact that Trump clearly doesn't understand either the gravity or the specifics of the situation has not helped. His disastrous attempts to "calm the nation" have resulted in the largest DOW Jones losses in decades, and more is likely yet to come, as he continues publicly airing just how much he does not know. Wharton School of Business Grad? Don't make me laugh. Dad clearly paid for his degree, since obviously, he learned nothing.
My mother, always ahead of the pack when it came to natural healing, was always concerned about those parents, especially very new moms, who constantly "sanitized" their childrens' hands, or toys, or whatever, without stopping to consider that kids are far better off being exposed to some bacteria and virii, or their immune systems won't develop properly.
I've never been a big fan of commercial hand sanitizer as a result, as a lot of people tend to grab hand sanitizer even when they have the opportunity to wash their hands, which makes no sense to me; particularly considering that a lot of hand sanitizers include chemical ingredients known to mess with our hormones, and other potentially toxic ingredients I'd rather avoid.
Of course, I also wear contact lenses, so for purely practical reasons, the last thing I want to do is to get any residue of hand sanitizer on my contacts. Not a fun development.
So for that reason and many more, I remain a staunch fan of handwashing, particularly before touching my face or my contact lenses.
Still, while we are coming to terms with the new COVID-19 strain of coronavirus, and whatever it will ultimately mean to us all, it is a good idea to prepare as well as we can.
To that end, here is a DIY solution for making a hand sanitizer that works, that will actually kill the virus and prevent you from getting it or passing it on to others, and that will be beneficial to your skin at the same time.
And, if you are into essential oils to any extent, you may already have the many of the needed ingredients on hand.
Keep in mind that the ingredients called for can make a large quantity of hand sanitizer, and may be used for a number of other uses as well, so making this in quantity can truly be a very cost-effective use of your time.
The first ingredient is a good, shelf-stable brand of aloe gel; my own favorite brand is Trader Joe's, as it has fewer noxious chemicals than most, but any decent brand should do.
Aloe gel is great for the skin, is naturally antimicrobial and antifungal, and helps to moisturize and heal, internally as well as externally.
The Trader Joe's brand is intended for external use and obviously, I am advocating this hand sanitizer for external use only. For internal use, there are a number of very good brands available, but all will need to be refrigerated after opening, and I'm guessing even then that most of us won't be lining up to guzzle hand sanitizer.
To approximately 3.5 ounces of aloe gel, add essential oils as desired to fully sanitize your hands as needed throughout the day; a good mix is fifteen to twenty drops each of tea tree oil, sage oil, lemongrass oil, and lavender oil.
This combination will kill bacteria and virus spores, smells great, and is so healing for the skin that it could double as a first aid ointment in case of minor cuts or scrapes.
A good alternative, especially if purchasing essential oils for the first time, is to go for a protective blend, such as Armor by Melaleuca; Thieves by Young Living; or Immunity by Guru Nanda. All of these blends contain oils that have been used for generations to boost immune function and fighting infections, including viral infections.
Once you have added all the essential oils, cap the bottle and shake well to mix them, and it is ready to use.
If you would prefer a spray, rather than a gel to rub in, you can add a small amount of witch hazel after the essential oils, which when shaken should liquify the gel enough to allow it to be sprayed easily.
I personally have several 2 ounce cobalt blue dropper bottles handy, which contained the colloidal iodine I use daily, so I'll be making enough to fill several of them, which I can then keep handy in several locations around the house, in my car, and in my purse.
And the beauty is that, not only is this hand sanitizer healthier to use, but because of the essential oils, it is far more effective at killing harmful microbes than hand sanitizers relying only on alcohol. Cheaper AND more effective. Score!
Pubmed being the fabulous resource that it is, I did a quick search regarding the medicinal properties of essential oils, and came up with this abstract which contains the following gem:
"In this study, we determined the antimicrobial activity of ten essential oils (EOs)-oregano, thyme, clove, arborvitae, cassia, lemongrass, melaleuca, eucalyptus, lavender, and clary sage-against drug-resistant microorganisms previously isolated from patients with skin infections. The essential oil compositions were determined using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The assayed bacteria included Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Citrobacter koseri, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Two drug-resistant yeasts (Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis) were also involved in our survey. Oregano, thyme, cassia, lemongrass and arborvitae showed very strong antibacterial and antifungal activity against all tested strains. These results show that these essential oils may be effective in preventing the growth of the drug-resistant microorganisms responsible for wound infections."
Let's consider the most important line once again: "Oregano, thyme, cassia, lemongrass and arborvitae showed very strong antibacterial and antifungal activity against all tested strains."
So it seems quite logical to me to make at least one batch using these five oils, particularly as I have all five on hand. For the record, arborvitae as an essential oil is also known as red or white cedar, or cedarwood.
The photo above, of some the ingredients for the DIY natural hand sanitizer, was taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 smartphone.
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