Can Hand Sanitizer Be Bad For You?

Hand sanitizer might actually be bad for those who use it before touching certain things. 

A new study conducted by scientists at the University of Missouri has reportedly shown that people who used hand sanitizer, touched a cash register receipt and then ate French fries were exposed to high levels of bisphenol A (BPA), according to TIME. 

BPA, a chemical widely used to coat receipt paper, has reportedly been identified as an endocrine disrupting chemical due to its ability to interfere with estrogen and other hormones. 

The recent study, which is published in PLOS One, reportedly shows that skin absorption of BPA appears to lead to higher levels of biologically active BPA in the body than when the chemical is digested with food. When scientists added scrubbing hands with hand sanitizer and eating greasy food, the highly large dose of BPA was reportedly found. 

"The chemicals used to make hand sanitizers, soaps, lotions and sunscreen degrade the skin's ability to act as a barrier and so act as skin penetration enhancers," stated study author Frederick S. vom Saal, Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. 

Although BPA can be found mostly in plastic and the coating of food and drink cans, the use of hand sanitizers and soap could reportedly allow BPA to enter the body more easily as it will allow skin absorption of the chemical. BPA has reportedly been linked to an increase risk of asthma, heart disease, and reproductive disorders, among other effects, according to Fox News. 

12 states have reportedly passed laws barring BPA in various products, including food and beverage containers intended for children. Although an alternative chemical can be used for receipts, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency reportedly found no chemical that was clearly safer than BPA. 

"What we need is an alternate technology," stated vom Saal.