Many of our clients are in the process of bringing their teams back into a work environment. Maybe part-time, full time or a mix of the two; in the office or other workplace. Our clients are working hard to make sure everything is as safe for their teams as possible and to give reassurance to and help each team member create their safe environment.
One way we have been helping organisations do this is by creating Back to Work and Travel Safe Kits – these could include sanitisers, wipes and gloves to keep themselves and their workspace clean and sanitised. But standard sanitisers contain a lot of alcohol, and repeated use can damage skin and other sensitive surfaces. So, we asked Samantha Moore from Moore MedTech, about this and to give us more information on how much alcohol is needed – this is Samantha's feedback.
" I recently visited the Post Office to post some hand sanitiser to an unwell friend. The person who served me asked what the package contained; I replied it contained hand sanitiser. He informed me this could not be posted because the product contained alcohol. I explained that this sanitiser had only trace amounts of alcohol (0.026 % to be precise) and was therefore perfectly safe to post. Clearly unsatisfied with this answer, he retorted 'it's not a very good hand sanitiser then is it? Because it's the alcohol which kills COVID!'
My thoughts, which I did not share, were why do we need alcohol in hand sanitiser to kill Covid-19 if soap and water are good enough? The answer is, we do not.
The recommendation for high alcohol concentrations by The World Health Organisation (WHO), comes from their guidelines on hand hygiene that were written specifically for health care workers (HCW) back in 2007.
Due to the high concentrations of alcohol-based sanitisers (some are over 75%), they evaporate very quickly allowing health care workers to change gloves and sanitise their hands quickly between patients, a huge advantage and time-saving benefit in a clinical environment where every second really counts. However, non-healthcare workers do not require this speed of evaporation, and there are some serious consequences to repeated use.
Alcohol removes oil from our skin, and this can cause them to dry out and become itchy and irritated, over time, this can lead to cracks and breaks in the skin.
It is not just skin it has this effect on, rubber, electrical and some plastics also degrade when subject to excess alcohol.
Alcohol can be painful when applied to areas of skin which suffer from eczema and other skin conditions, including sensitivity during and after medical treatments such as chemotherapy.
I accept that carrying around soap and water isn't a practical option, and soap and water, whilst highly effective on coronaviruses, isn't an effective solution for other viruses, bacteria or fungus."
What are the other options?
There are other tried and tested non/very low alcohol-based products, which have been around since the early 1900s, which also do a great job on killing not only coronaviruses but other viruses, bacteria and fungus too, commonly known as antimicrobials.
There are a few products on the market, so formulations vary but essentially, they use biocidal active substances (acticides) to destroy any harmful pathogens by chemical or biological means.
The MML 1-03 formulation incorporates five acticides. These acticides are well-known antimicrobials that act synergistically together to kill organisms. This synergy and ability to bring the five acticides together into one matrix formulation means they are efficient in low concentrations that are safe to handle.
The nature of the matrix weakens cells to attack by the acticides. This guarantees an efficient kill of all micro-organisms and ensures cells cannot develop a resistance.
Additional benefits:
• Clinically tested on live COVID-19 spores
• The pathogens (viruses and bacteria) are killed on contact
• The solution bonds to surfaces creating a protective layer, killing pathogens for up to a month
• The formula has been dermatologically tested to be mild and gentle on skin
• It is odour free
• It is so low in alcohol; it has been certified Halal
And it can be posted!
To find out more about our 'Travel Safe Kits' and ‘Back to Work Kits’ just contact the team on hello@sourcing.co.uk or, contact Gill Thorpe, CEO at The Sourcing Team 07976 262758 gillthorpe@sourcing.co.uk
About Moore MedTech
Moore MedTech is helping companies across the UK develop recovery plans and get back to work through a range of unique and innovative solutions. They work across a large number of industries including transportation, facilities management, IT, medical and aerospace; leading the way in sanitising and decontamination technologies such as MML1-03 sanitising and cleaning products and FAR-UV lighting solutions that constantly kill pathogens in the air and on surfaces.