10 thoughts on “TALON Talk: Sanitizers”

  1. Hi Saihaj! Your presentation was really enjoyable and provided lots of extensive details on sanitizer and alcohols. I liked how you chose a topic so relevant in today’s society, and your conclusion was really helpful and informative for all of us. Since this is pretty important to our health, how do you think sanitizer companies are trying to/can make this information more accessible to all? A lot of people don’t even know that certain ones are more effective than others. Thank you!
    Bridget

    1. Hi Bridget, thanks for the feedback.

      To answer your question, I think each company is just trying to advertise their own product by showing everyone why their sanitizer should be trusted and used, or why it’s the best. For example, if you go to Purell’s website, it talks about how they are a trusted product in hospitals. They also have a resource where you can ask questions about disinfectants and hand hygiene. Based on the websites I’ve been on, companies usually don’t talk about which kind of alcohol or how much of it is best; they’re just trying to advertise their own product and explain why it’s contents are effective at killing germs. Overall, I think the best way a company can explain why their sanitizer is best is by starting with giving people resources and information so they understand a bit about how sanitizer works. From there, they can prove how effective their sanitizer is.

      Hope that answers your question!

  2. Hey Saihaj! I loved your choice of topic, and how you related it to current events happening in the world. It was extremely detailed but I was still able to clearly understand. I was just wondering, if it’s shown that sanitizers must have 70% alcohol for it to be most effective, why do you think other brands are still using other percentages of alcohol?

    1. Hi Josee, thanks for the feedback.
      This is fairly new information and, as far as I know, it was only proven once by the CDC. I don’t think this study is even very well known (CDC is still a trustworthy source).
      There are definitely advantages and disadvantages to higher alcohol percentages vs. lower alcohol percentages. Companies consider factors like how much it dries out the skin, and I think reasons like this are why there is a large variety of sanitizers with different alcohol percentages.

  3. Hi Saihaj! Very interesting presentation! You spoke loud and clear and made a very detailed and in-depth topic very easy for audiences to understand. Are both ethyl and isopropyl effective against almost all types of pathogens? Or do they each have different strengths in terms of specific pathogens they kill off more easily?

    1. Hi Julianne,

      The only types of pathogens that the alcohol kills are ones with lipid bilayers, usually bacteria and certain viruses. Both ethyl and isopropyl alcohol are effective at killing these types of pathogens. As far as my research shows, neither one is more effective than the other at killing specific types of pathogens. Overall, though, ethyl alcohol is recommended because of the time it takes to absorb into the skin.

  4. Hi Saihaj, your talk was quite nice! I liked how you chose a topic that’s relevant to what is happening right now, it made it quite intriguing for me. Your slideshow made it easy for me to follow and your voice was clear. A question I have is, do you think other sanitizers like sprays or wipes should follow the 60%-80% alcohol recommendation too?

    1. Hi Mandy, thanks for the feedback. My research only focused on gel sanitizers, but from what I’ve learned, yes. All disinfecting products with alcohol must have at least 60% alcohol to be effective, and since the science of how wipes and sanitizer sprays kill germs is basically the same as gel sanitizers, the range should be about the same. Of course, there are still differences in the way they kill germs. For example, liquid sanitizers kill germs faster than gel sanitizers. Overall, though, I think the range of alcohol they should have is about the same.

  5. Hi Saihaj, I loved your presentation! You did a great job at providing clear and engaging visuals accompanied by very well paced explanations. One question I have is how do the prices and availability of these brands compare, and would the addition of this variable change your verdict of which brand is the best?

  6. Hi Saihaj, your presentation was awesome! I loved how clear you were able to explain the information and added the perfect pictures to go with them. One question I have is how would the helpfulness of wipes or spray sanitizers compare to liquid? Which ones work better? Which should be used more often?

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