Esm, thanks for the post, good to know! I will check from now on too. I have Purell now with me all the time. I think it leaves my hands feeling soft, clean, and germ free! Thanks! :)

Jolie, I am right with you, purelling like mad.

Thanks esm for the tip, I will check.

I ran out of Purell in Paris last trip and couldn't find it anywhere.. ???...

I have never looked for hand sanitizer in Paris. During our trip to China, a friend (who is Belgian) saw the little container and asked what it was. She became a fan and I gladly gave her my extra bottle.

I prefer a towelette that actually removes dirt *and* bacteria. From surfaces and my hands.

There are several brands available in travel-sized packets. Alcohol swabs would be effective as well.

Lesli, I'm with you on that one. I feel like the anti-bacterial gels just rub the germs around on my hands. I always opt for washing them with soap and water when available, and otherwise use anti-bacterial wipes. A towelette just makes my hands feel cleaner than a gel that rubs things around in the same spot, even if it might be a figment of my imagination. :)

Thanks for the heads up, esm! I don't leave home without my hand sanitizer, and from now on I'll check the alcohol content before buying.

Whatever doesn't kill CAN make you stronger. Of course, whatever might actually kill you first. And while, if you don't die you might get stronger, you also might end up with some long term debilitating condition.

Millions die worldwide each year because of poor sanitation of one form or another. Some who don't die do end up stronger. But millions are still dead.

Hand sanitizer is easy to find in Paris. One common brand is Baccide, which is available in both large and small bottles.

I prefer the handwipes also as I too feel like my hands are cleaner. I even take a small packet of them when going from my city to SF as I ride the ferry,take taxis and often am on BART. Public transportation, elevators etc. sure can make your hands dirty.

I recently discovered Raycide tablets. It costs about a dollar each and easy to carry for travel. It's no Alka Seltzer, LOL, but all you need is add water and you'll have an instant hospital grade disinfectant.

Esm- I am not saying don't wash your hands. I am just saying that if you wash your hands at logical times (after going to the bathroom, before eating, etc) then hand sanitizer is unnecessary.

I really do think that we take "hygiene" too far. I like it that my body has some natural oils and that my hair and skin stay healthy because of them. Aside from being unnecessary, hand sanitizer is really drying.

Thanks for the info esm. I don't think there's anything wrong with using an alcohol-based sanitizer especially if there's no access to plain old soap and water. I'm an optometrist, and I sometimes recommend hand sanitizers to my contact lens patients who plan on travelling.

all of you have alot to add to this post and subject. Yes, what does not kill you makes you stronger, as the saying goes, but also, as they say, hind sight is 20/20. I am not a big advocate of excessive antibiotic use, but if I need it, I certainly will take it! I prefer to let my body fight the first front first, hence, I rarely get sick, (knock on wood!) I carry alcohol wipes, antibacterial gels, but do not get hyper-psyched about using them at every turn, common sense, and general hygiene are precident for me.
When hubby and I went for the first time last year to Disneyworld, I was on a forum Disboards, and while I gleaned a tremendous amount of advise (you really do need it to do that area justice, believe it or not) I remember there was a thread of this kind, and folks, you would not BELIEVE the phobias
( packing their own sheets, pillowcases, towels, mattresses and their pads, wiping down of all surfaces with self brought Lysol, etc.) and this was in our own country! Clearly most of these well-intentioned individuals would NEVER survive mentally or physically, in a foreign country! So, take whatever (reasonable) precautions you must, just keep a cool head.

daisy58 -- I think a big part of this might be due to the fact that there are a disproportionate number of OCD-types on these boards. I don't mean to insult anyone by saying this - I exhibit this type of behavior myself and many of my friends are high-anxiety or a little frentic. But you can tell by the questions asked on this board that many of us are over-planners, struggling to make a minor decision, obsessing over nothing, etc. I also think this is true of people who post on travelocity, etc. --I try to re-interpret the comments by imagining that everyone posting is borderline or full blown OCD. Helps to keep the reviews in perspective, I think.

oops, meant tripadvisor reviews, not travelocity. (obsessing over minor errors,etc)

Taking hygiene too far, OCD, compulsive, over-planner, obsessive over nothing, …. What a nice way to start my Friday! Just kidding.

I’m glad that some of you found the information useful. I also like hand wipes as mentioned by a couple of posters. It is convenient to have these options.

Laclaire, I don’t think we disagree on keeping hands clean. I never said everyone should use hand sanitizer all the time. I only use it when soap/water is not an option. And as Sharon1306 said, it makes life easier for contact lenses wearers.

Washing your hands at appropriate times is best--no doubt. And it is very effective.

But travel does entail some inconveniences, including times when facilities to wash your hands properly are not available. Take the alcohol sanitizer just in case. It won't create resistent germs; it won't ruin your skin (unless you overdo it); it won't make you weak. It might save you from an inconvenient case of "stomach flu" or worse.

esm, thanks for the info. I'm with you on using hand sanitizers. I do wash my hands at every opportunity, but see nothing wrong with a quick clean up before touching the food that will go into my mouth.

To those who say "I survived my childhood with out it..." -- we also survived our childhoods without car seats and seat belts. Do you put your children or grandchildren in the car and take off without first ensuring their safety by buckling them into an appropriate restraint?

To the "that which doesn't kill you" camp -- That which doesn't kill you can make you pretty darn sick.

Good hygiene is never inappropriate.

All this valuable discourse on hygiene reminded me of my first trip as a solo traveler. I went to a Club Med in Mexico and, as a single too poor to pay the supplement, was assigned a room-mate (yes, this was a million years ago!)

My roommate "Jane" only came because she had won the trip as some sort of employee-of-the-month thing. She was in way over her head having never ventured from her home-town in Little Village, USA before...additionally, someone had scared her silly about sanitation (perhaps, not without reason). I should have guessed when I saw she had three huge suitcases for a one week vacation. I had a bkini and a toothbrush in my purse...this was the 70's and Club Med, after all!

I am not kidding when I tell you that she brought her own cleaning rags and brushes and Javex Bleach, Pinesol,Lysol spray, Mr. Clean and enough bottled water to fill the Gulf. She began by scrubbing the floors, walls and steps of our little bunkie.I awoke every morning to the sound of Jane spray-cleaning the bathroom yet again.

But the topper came when I was sheepishly approached by one of the GM's (Club Med management) to ask if I could intervene and get Jane to be a little more discrete. Seems she had spent a good part of the previous afternoon trying to remove stains from the area around the pool before she would set foot in it!

To this day the scent of Lysol still brings Mexico back to me...