Safety Check: Purell Hand Sanitizer (Original) with Moisturizers and Vitamin E

I hate getting sick.

In fact, after two winters of various cyclical maladies, I've gotten to be a bit of a germaphobe.

Enter the classic germ prevention method: Purell Hand Sanitizer. It's everywhere in Toronto hospitals and medical centres these days; I also have one on my desk at work.

But how safe is it -- really?

The Skin Deep site is not too clear on that. It has several Purell products listed, with safety ratings ranging from 5/10 to 7/10, but not the specific one sitting on my desk. So let's take a look at the ingredient list and see where we're at here.

MEDICINAL INGREDIENT:

1. Ethyl Alcohol 62% (a.k.a. "ethanol")
Skin Deep Rating: 4-5/10 depending on useage


NON-MEDICINAL INGREDIENTS:

2. aminomethyl propanol
Skin Deep Rating: 3/10 (moderate hazard)

3. carbomer
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10 (low risk)

4. fragrance
Skin Deep Rating: 7/10
That's not good at all!

5. glycerin
Skin Deep Rating: 2/10
NOTE: Includes cancer and developmental/reproductive toxicity

6. isopropyl myristate
Skin Deep Rating: 1/10 (low risk)

7. propylene glycol
Skin Deep Rating: 4/10 (moderate hazard)

8. tocopheryl acetate (Vitamin E acetate)
Skin Deep Rating: 4/10
NOTE: Includes risks for allergies/immunotoxicity as well as contamination concerns for hydroquinone (This is bad - hydroquinone, according to Skin Deep, runs the gamut of bad things from cancer to developmental/reproductive toxicity and beyond)

9. water
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10 ("innocuous")


Ouch. So I'm feeling a little more nervous about this bottle of liquified gunk sitting on my desk now. Maybe I should just make a point of washing my hands more often instead ...