If you were late in getting your own hand sanitizer supply and you want to have your own cache for convenience and peace of mind, you can actually make it yourself. Just keep in mind though that a DIY hand sanitizer should have at least 60% alcohol or else it wouldn’t do any good. This means using vodka, which usually contains only 40% alcohol, is out of the question.
You should also be aware that if hand sanitizers didn’t have Aloe Vera or other chemicals like glycerin that protect the skin from the adverse effects of alcohol, you’d end up having rough and dry hands. You always have to take this into consideration when making your own concoction.
Now while there is WHO recipe for a DIY hand sanitizer, it needs ingredients that you could not easily source out on your own. Among others, it needs sterile water and an alcoholometer, which is needed for the measurement of alcohol and glycerol concentration in the final product. Just from these, it can be seen that it is purely for medical settings or for areas where the more commercial ingredients are harder to come by.
So, for your own hand sanitizer, here are simpler ingredients that you can easily get in local pharmacies, drugstores, or supermarkets:
– 2/3 cup of rubbing alcohol
– 1/3 cup of Aloe Vera gel
– mixing bowl
– spoon
– funnel
– 4 2oz liquid soap containers or spray bottles
– adhesive labels or masking tape
– marker or pen
– 5 – 10 drops of essential oil (optional)
You should also be aware that if hand sanitizers didn’t have Aloe Vera or other chemicals like glycerin that protect the skin from the adverse effects of alcohol, you’d end up having rough and dry hands. You always have to take this into consideration when making your own concoction.
Instructions:
Although there is nothing as effective as soap and water in protecting yourself from the coronavirus, a DIY hand sanitizer can do the trick when you are in a place where a sink is not easily available. The convenience and effectiveness of a hand sanitizer, especially with the right amount of alcohol content, will help in making sure that you’re protected wherever you go. In combating any kind of virus, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
The Coronavirus outbreak started in Wuhan, China, when a case was first confirmed there on December 31, 2019. Almost a month later, on January 30, 2020, it was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. As of March 10, there were 113,702 confirmed cases worldwide with 4012 deaths. Ninety-three of these confirmed cases are from Canada with 39 and 36 coming from British Columbia and Ontario, respectively. There are 14 cases in Alberta and 4 in Quebec.
