Until a few years back, I really wasn’t much of a hand washer.  Sure, bathroom visits prompted me to wash my hands, but otherwise?  Not so much.

Once my Mother developed her first MRSA, I became rather obsessive about cleaning my hands around the house, washing frequently with anti-bacterial soap and alcohol hand wash.  However, when I was out and about?  I didn’t really think about it (unless my Mom was with us) until early last year, when I noticed a pattern.

Yes, a pattern.  It seemed every time I picked up a respiratory infection, it came on the heels of a grocery shopping trip.  It was then that I realized that I was touching hundreds of different surfaces that had just been handled by others without a second thought.  Sneezing checkers touching every single item in my cart, sniffling bag boys groping my groceries . . .  arrrrrgh!

That’s when I welcomed Purell Hand Sanitizer to my world.  Initially, I went with another brand (Germ-X, which I had carried while traveling), but flipped over to Purell with Aloe because . . . well, because it was green.  It looked nicer.  Turned out it was nicer—nicer after-scent (after the nostril-burn of alcohol passes, of course), and just a touch nicer on my hands when it comes to how my skin feels after use. 

Purell with Aloe comes in a variety of sizes (including a small, non-pump purse size), but I tend to grab the 8 ounce size because it’s large enough to last a bit without being so huge that it looks industrial.  I keep one in the car and one next to the keyboard on the computer.  The one in the car gets used after restaurant and grocery store trips, the one next to the computer is for after my Mom’s been playing. 

Purell with Aloe looks like a typical hand sanitizer (but green), with a thick, bubbly appearance that turns to runny liquid when it comes in contact with body heat.  Its active ingredient is Ethyl alcohol (65%), and when it first comes out of the pump, it smells like it!  Once that dries, it becomes a more pleasing, less astringent-smelling thing that reminds me of dried flowers for some reason.  Like any alcohol-based product, it evaporates quickly.

While I would never mistake Purell with Aloe for an Aloe and Vitamin E lotion, it doesn’t tend to dry my hands, even though I use it at least ten times a day.  I’ve seen no irritation or chapping, and I’m happy with the results I get. 

All the usual warnings apply—don’t eat this, don’t rub it on wood furniture (damage!), and don’t slather it on fabrics (stains!).  Don’t expect it to do as good a job as old fashioned soap and water.  Don’t use it as a replacement for good hygiene. 

In all?  Soap and water is always best, but sometimes soap and water isn’t practical.  For those times, I definitely recommend Purell with Aloe!  It’s put an end to my “go shopping, get sick” pattern, and that’s exactly what I was looking for!

Recommended: Yes