Can HOCL be used to sterilize hospitals and clinics?

As more and more people around the world are growing concerned about the current pandemic that's spreading like wildfire across the globe, so too are hospitals and the healthcare industry. More hospitals are switching to a safer alternative - HOCL

Hospitals have generally used alcohol-based sanitiser to prevent the spread of disease. But is the end of the line approaching for our go-to disinfectants? With other, better products on the rise, the future of alcohol sanitisers appears more and more sterile.

Of course, alcohol-based solutions do their job — they kill pathogens. But they're no longer the safest or most effective option on the market. 

Commonly-used alcohol sanitisers can damage skin and trigger dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis — all of which can be a living nightmare for ever-disinfecting medical staff. They’re also toxic, posing a risk to small children who might drink them. 

Just to add fuel to the fire, they’re flammable too — enough to be identified by the NHS as a fire risk when left in hot cars!

With these drawbacks becoming more and more well-known, safer alternatives like HOCL are increasingly sought out by medical institutions and commercial clients.

Iyashi Mizu is completely safe for human use, yet 300 times more effective than bleach at killing pathogens (including bacteria and viruses – yes, even COVID-19). 

After a year on the frontlines against COVID-19, the prospect of switching to a safer, skin-friendly disinfectant has been warmly welcomed by medical staff.

Consultant Surgeon Dr Gordon Buchanan vouches for HOCL: 

“My hands are my most important tool for my job. I believe we should be transitioning away from alcohol-based sanitisers in high-use environments.”

Dr Gary Davies, Medical Director at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital agrees: 

“At the start of the pandemic, hand washing and hand sanitisers suddenly became even more important in the drive of preventing and limiting infection, but I don’t think we necessarily imagined we would be using sanitisers so intensively and for such a long period. Over time we have seen a really significant increase in skin conditions suffered by our staff from high usage of alcohol-based sanitisers. We proactively looked for a safe and effective solution to try to prevent this from happening and have now started utilising a HOCL based product. Feedback from staff members has been overwhelmingly positive."

Whilst HOCL has important uses in the current pandemic scenario, it’s future applications have monumental potential effects for post-pandemic life. It’s clear that living in a post-pandemic world means embracing a greater level of sanitation in public  spaces, the workplace and beyond.