Fact Check : Hand Sanitiser Catches Fire, Burns Woman!

Did a woman severely burn both her hands, after the hand sanitiser she applied caught fire from a stove? Find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Woman Applies Hand Sanitiser And Catches Fire From Stove!

Clickbait websites posted stories about a lady who accidentally set both her hands on fire after applying a hand sanitiser.

 

Hand Sanitiser Catches Fire, Burns Woman : Hoax Debunked!

This is yet another Internet hoax that have been circulating on social media. These websites apparently accepted the claim at face value, without fact-checking.

Alcohol Evaporates Pretty Quickly

The alcohol in alcohol-based hand sanitisers quickly evaporates when you rub it all over your hands. On average, it takes just 15 seconds for the alcohol in a hand sanitiser to evaporate.

Unless the woman in the story quickly turned on the stove after applying the hand sanitiser, it is not possible for the hand sanitiser on her hand to catch fire.

Hand Sanitisers Can Only Be Set On Fire Using A Direct Flame

In August 2010, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a report on the flammability of alcohol-based hand sanitisers. Here were their key findings :

• a hand sanitiser with 60% alcohol is flammable, but only using a direct flame.
• alcohol vapour can only be ignited by a direct flame.

In other words, for the story to be true, the woman would have to place both hands over, or very close to, the stove’s flames.

That’s A Skin Graft Donor Site

The picture is of a burn victim, whose forearm was harvested for skin grafts.

You can see the sharp edges on her right forearm – an actual burn would not look like that.

You can also see the pattern on the donor site – marks of the dermatome used to harvest the skin grafts.

 

Hand Sanitiser : Should You Still Use It?

Now, while the story may be a tall tale, you should never take alcohol-based hand sanitisers lightly. It is a flammable liquid, which will catch fire if you pour it near or onto an open flame.

Hand sanitiser brands like Purell recommend that you do NOT use alcohol-based hand sanitisers near an open flame, or while smoking a cigarette.

We should also point out that soap actually works better against microbes, including the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Recommended : Soap vs Sanitiser : Which Works Better Against COVID-19?

However, a hand sanitiser is useful if you have no ready access to soap and clean water. Just make sure the hand sanitiser has an alcohol content of 60% to 95%.

Malaysia

• Deb Instant FOAM (70%) : 250 ml | 400 ml | 2 Pack + Dispenser | Refill / Dispenser
• Dettol Hand Sanitiser (69.4%) : 50 ml | 50 ml | 200 ml | 200 ml | 200 ml
• Hovid QuicKlean (70%) : 50 ml | 120 ml | 720 ml | 720 ml
• PURELL Advanced (70%) : 236 ml | 354 ml | 591 ml
• Saraya Alsoft Pure (70%) : 500 ml | 500 ml | 1 L
• Saraya Smart San Sanitiser A S-4 (65%) : 5 L | 5 L
• SeptiSilk (79%) : 500 ml | 500 ml

Singapore

• 3M Avagard (70%) : 500 ml
• Deb Instant FOAM (70%) : 400 ml | 1 L + Dispenser
• Dettol Hand Sanitiser (69.4%) : 50 ml
• Lifebuoy Hand Sanitiser (95%) : 50 ml | 50 ml | 50 ml
• PURELL Advanced (70%) : 236 ml | 354 ml | 591 ml

United States

• Amazon Solimo (70%) : 67.59 fl oz | 8 fl oz x 6 | 32 fl oz x 4
• Barbicide (70%) : 16 oz
• Dettol Hand Sanitiser (69.4%) : 50 ml | 200 ml | 200 ml
• Germ-X (63%) : 10 fl oz | 7 fl oz x 6 | 8 fl oz x 6 | 30 fl oz x 4
• Safetec Instant (66.5%) : 4 oz x 6
• PURELL Advanced (70%) : 8 fl oz | 8 fl oz x 2 | 12 fl oz x 2 | 12 fl oz x 3 |

United Kingdom

• Clinell (70%) : 50 ml | 50 ml x 5 | 50 ml x 10
• Deb Instant FOAM (70%) : 47 ml | 47 ml x 12 | 1 L
• HypaClean (70%) : 50 ml | 500 ml | 1 L + Dispenser
• PURELL Advanced (70%) : 300 ml | 300 ml x 2 | 300 ml x 3 | 500 ml |

Australia

• Dettol Hand Sanitiser (69.4%) : 200 ml
• PURELL Advanced (70%) : 8 oz | 8 oz | 8 oz x 2
• Livingstone (75%) : 70 ml | 500 ml | 1 L | 20 L

If you are concerned about dry skin, just apply some moisturiser after rubbing the alcohol-based hand sanitiser dry on your hands.

 

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• Did The Chinese Use Tea To Cure COVID-19 In Wuhan?
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• Hand Sanitiser Alcohol Catching Fire : Hoax Debunked!
• COVID-19 Coronavirus : Why Snakes Are Not Hosts!
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• COVID-19 Coronavirus Symptoms Revealed In JAMA Study!
• COVID-19 : Protect With Surgical Mask + Eyewear!
• H1N1 Pandemic : The Great American Cover-Up Debunked!
• Hand Sanitiser vs Soap : Which Should YOU Use?

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