So in my inbox today was an email with a link here, a link to an infection control FAQ. I’m all for hand sanitizing, and stations everywhere, but here’s an interesting quote from the FAQ:

Can alcohol-based products lead to antimicrobial resistance?

Resistance occurs when certain types of products are used excessively, and is more commonly associated with the over-prescription of antibiotics than hand cleaning. Ethanol, the active ingredient in Purell®, kills cells quickly and then evaporates. Since bacteria generally require prolonged exposure to an agent in order adapt and become resistant, the rapid killing effect and evaporation of ethanol means there is less chance for resistance to occur. Furthermore, even if microorganisms could become more tolerant of alcohols, this would not affect their susceptibility to antibiotics like penicillin.

Although Bacteria can adapt in their lifespans (like turning on a ?-Galactosidase gene for making a lactose enzyme), I highly doubt they could adapt to varying concentrations of ethanol. Bacteria develop resistance through genetic change, aka natural selection. It doesn’t matter how quickly the bacteria are exposed to ethanol. It just matters that the strong survive and reproduce.

Also from the FAQ (this is a serious topic, but ridiculous video)