Purell & the alike... Do you like these products?

I use hand sanitizers, but TOTALLY in place of hand washing. I still wash my hands with soap and water (especially after going to the bathroom) and will use a hand sanitizer occasionally. I do use the wipes provided at the grocery store to wipe down my cart's handle, too. I'm a little bit of a germaphobe, though.

Personally, I think people have become way to paranoid about germs. Those anti-bacterial soaps and waterless goops actually kill good bacteria as well as bad, which is probably why you would end up with a cold! Your body needs good bacteria in order to keep your immune system in check to fight the bad bacteria. You are actually compromising your immune system by using that stuff! My mother never did more than use a dishrag to wipe knobs and walls that I touched with dirty hands, and she always used soap and water to wash my hands. To this day, I am very rarely sick. I almost never go to the doctor, I NEVER get the flu shot, and I never get the flu! IMO, good ol' soap and water is best, and nothing beats a good diet, exercise (include outdoor time in that!), and living with as few man-made, manufactured toxins as possible!

I think they are dangerous! We as a society are becoming so germophobic that our immune systems are becoming weak because we don't allow them to fight anything. It's almost like living in a sterile bubble--when something does come along and attacks the immune system, most peoples' will be so weak from disuse that they'll be hit hard. I never use hand sanitizer or wipe off my grocery cart. If my hands are dirty, I'll wash them, otherwise I leave them alone. I don't shy away from people or germs and I've been healthy for years. I never get a flu shot and haven't had the flu for 19 years, despite caring for people with the flu.

I'm not a germaphobe at all.. actually I'm a bit of the opposite. I'm the type who thinks a few germs are good for you, it helps build up your immune system. So no, I never use those hand sanitizer things, and I'd never bother. I think everyone would be better off if they stopped worrying so much about germs and allowed themselves to build up immunities to most of them... then people wouldn't be affected by them as much! BTW, I almost never get sick. Maybe a cold in the winter, but I've never had the flu or anything major that's knocked me on my butt. My kids don't get sick either, like me, it's just once a year. Hubby used to get sick like every other day, but that's been slowing down a lot over the years, and now even he is hardly ever sick.

I do like using the hand sanitizers but only once in a while. I keep one in my car since you never know when you might need to clean your hands especially with the kids. My daughter also takes one to school. I tell her to make sure she uses it before she eats since I know they don't get to wash their hands enough in school.

I am amost embarrased to admit that I love these and will purchase them all the time. I also wash my hands all they long and now they look like little old lady hands instead of the beautiful hands of other women I see around me. I have a bit of a "Monk" complex I guess. I try to calm down at times when I am unable to either wash or sanitize but this is something that is bordering on "sickness" so I really cant control it all that well. My daughter has two little kids who almost NEVER wash their hands and besides a suffy nose now and then they are perfectly fine and still alive but even like that I find it hard to control myself. What do you do?