Back to School Basics: Zylast Hand Sanitizer

Zylast XP Anitseptic Foaming Soap 

In recent years, one of the items that has been added to most teacher's lists for their student's school supplies: hand sanitizer or hand soap. And I don't blame them-kids are nasty. Filthy, dirty, germ harboring, carriers of disease. Bless their hearts...

If you couldn't tell, I don't like germs {though, who really does}. I take special precautions so that my girls do not bring their school mates' germs back home with them {one thing we do is change clothes as soon as they get home from school}. Another thing we do, is wash our hands immediately upon entering the house. You would think that any soap would do, but this recent study says otherwise:

A new alcohol-free hand sanitizer has offered clinical evidence it is the first to kill both 99.99% of bacteria on contact plus most "non-enveloped" viruses like HIV and norovirus, the brutal flu variant which will hit 20 million Americans in 2013.

According to a recent study in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, this new antiseptic, branded Zylast, formulated with the virus-piercing compound BZT (benzethonium chloride), is a hundred times as effective as alcohol-based sanitizers in killing norovirus, and far more effective than handwashing with either water or antibacterial soap.

In that trial, Zylast eliminated more than 99.99 percent of norovirus upon contact - and over 95% six hours after application. This trumps all alcohol-based sanitizers, which have an initial kill rate of only 20 percent and zero effectiveness once the alcohol has evaporated from the skin -- approximately 15 seconds.

Zylast XP Antiseptic Lotion

Another study, in 2010, found that rinsing hands with water alone was more effective in killing norovirus than using an alcohol-based sanitizer. Yet another study in American Journal of Infection Control concluded that nursing homes using alcohol-based hand sanitizers were six times as likely to have a norovirus outbreak than those that relied on hand washing alone.

Alcohol-based sanitizers that are often used in schools are only effective for 15 seconds after application, which means that hands can immediately become recontaminated. This is especially problematic with children, because studies show they touch their faces every three minutes. The Zylast technology is designed to destroy germs on contact, but is also persistent for six hours after application, still killing 98% of E. coli and S. Aureus one hour after application in a human skin model.

The Zylast technology is also specially formulated to be effective against viruses as well as bacteria, which are a significant cause of disease among children. Norovirus, often called the “stomach flu”, is a major cause of illness across the country, particularly among children in close quarters. Independent studies have shown that Zylast is more than 100 times more effective against the Norovirus than alcohol sanitizers, killing 99.97% on contact. It has also been successfully tested against the Rotavirus, a common cause of diarrhea among children, and Rhinovirus, the common cold.

The Zylast Antiseptic Lotion and Foaming Soap {products sent for review}, the products used in the clinical study, are both water-based, all natural, triclosan-free, and moisturize the hands with a quick-drying, non-greasy feel. Importantly in schools, they are alcohol-free, and therefore not prone to alcohol abuse by students and are non-flammable. In California alone, almost 1,300 cases of alcohol abuse are reported annually as the result of ethanol-based hand sanitizers.

Dr Beth McNichol, who holds a doctorate in Emerging Infectious Diseases from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

“First, the Zylast products are persistent for six hours, so children are protected beyond the 15-second lifespan of an alcohol sanitizer,” Dr. McNichol said. “Second, the Zylast Lotion is effective against pathogens like the Norovirus, rotavirus, and the common cold – some of the most prevalent diseases among children, and germs against which alcohol sanitizers are relatively ineffective. Finally, the product is water-based and moisturizes the hands, so children and staff actually like using it, which greatly improves compliance.”

So in all that science-y stuff, I learned one thing-I sent a bottle of Zylast XP Antiseptic Foaming Soap to school with Lo. Take that kindergarten germs! Until next time...