A Canadian Pharmacist Is Warning Against Homemade Hand Sanitizer In A Viral Tweet

Disaster DIY? With the continuing spread of coronavirus, people are stocking up on certain items to keep themselves healthy. It's gotten to the point that hand sanitizer in Canada is sold out almost everywhere. However, it may not be the best thing to try and make yourself if you can't find it.

In a Twitter thread that has since gone viral, a person who says they are a Canadian pharmacist explains why going to the ends of the earth to track down hand sanitizer, as well as facemasks, is not the best idea right now.

She then specifically goes into detail on why making your own hand sanitizer is definitely not something that people should resort to.

"HI TWITTER! I am a pharmacist. I sell hand sanitizer for a living! Or I do when any exists. Like masks, it is sold the fuck out everywhere," writes @hsifyppah, "SHOULD YOU BE WORRIED? No. Use soap. SHOULD YOU VISIT TWENTY PHARMACIES LOOKING FOR THE LAST BOTTLE? No. Pharmacies are full of sick people."

In a follow-up tweet, she points out why trying to make your own sanitizer is definitely not a good idea, writing "WHAT ABOUT MAKING MY OWN? Oh just use soap. If you screw up and don't use enough alcohol, your homebrew won't work, and even if you do, most homemade versions dry your skin too much, making it MORE vulnerable to infection."

The Twitter thread goes into more detail about the actual chemistry of creating hand sanitizer and how difficult it actually is, even for a "professional compounding pharmacist."

Further tweets also go into detail on how to use masks, saying that only the person who is actually sick should be wearing one.

"WHAT ABOUT MASKS? Don't lie, you don't have any. But if you do, save them for if someone in your household gets sick, and get the sick person to wear them. Masks are best at protecting people from you, not protecting you from people," @hsifyppah writes.

Overall, the thesis statement of the thread is to just practice good hygiene (which you should do anyway).

Sabrina McLean, a Nova Scotia pharmacist, backed up this claim, telling CBC News that just washing your hands is still more effective than constantly using sanitizer, brand name or not.