Cuts and abrasions…

Posted on October 4th, 2007 in Opinion,Safety by Julian Edgar

dettol.jpgThose of us who are not full-time workers on cars, but instead are enthusiasts who don’t get their hands dirty on a daily basis, are most likely to benefit from this product.

So what is it? It’s an antiseptic liquid that you dispense from a pump-pack and then wipe over your hands. The stuff dries quickly and doesn’t leave a sticky residue.

I find it particularly effective when I cut my hands (looking now I can count six minor cuts, three of which are open) as very often heavy duty hand cleaners have the unfortunate side-effect of infecting cuts.

So you’re working on brakes or an engine or bodywork and, at the time you inflict a minor cut on yourself, your hands are filthy. If the cut or abrasion is of little consequence, you leave it and then later clean your hands with a heavy duty soap or dedicated hand cleaner.

And if that’s all you do, it’s likely the open wounds will get infected.

But if after cleaning your hands, you give them a wipe-over with Dettol Instant Hand Sanitizer, the later infection is avoided.

There may well be other products that work in the same way – it’s just that I haven’t come across them. For minor cuts and abrasions it’s much better than the antiseptic cream you might apply to a more serious wound – you can quickly and easily spread the sanitizer over both hands by just squeezing some of the liquid onto a palm and then rubbing your hands together. It doesn’t need to be wiped off – it then evaporates.

The product costs $5 or $6 and it’s available at supermarkets.  Note that it’s highly inflammable, so use it on your hands only after you’ve left the workshop…

(And no the sample wasn’t a freebie – I bought it just like anyone else.)

One Response to 'Cuts and abrasions…'

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  1. Dean said,

    on October 4th, 2007 at 7:16 pm

    From working deep within the engine bay, or just washing the inside of the wheels, after every effort, like yourself, would come out with various cuts and scrapes.

    One day after getting a deep cut and not wanting to get any more grit in there, I put on a pair of disposable latex gloves to protect the cut (bandaids etc are useless as they just get pulled and knocked off). It ended up protecting the cut as well as stopping other potential cuts.

    Now everytime I work on my car/bike I put on a pair of gloves, and no longer worry about cutting my hand to shreds. Call me soft, but I’m the one without any cuts that take twice the time to heal due to whatever contaminants getting into the cut.

  2. Blair said,

    on October 6th, 2007 at 5:37 pm

    Couple of tips
    Water free hand wash, designed for parent’s changing nappies is similar to this.
    You can put glue on a open wound to seal it from the elements and to stop bleeding. There are various common “super glues” you can use but I would not be prudent for me to list them because there may be harmful components in some propriety brand, but an internet search will find what you can use