Hand sanitation in the field

[SWAT1088]

I did a car search yesterday. I swear that there were little bugs and crap all over the place. I felt so friggin dirty I wanted to puke. I had to search the guy after that and unbenounced to me he pissed his pants after he learned what I found. So I ended up with that all over my hands too. What is the best "field" hand sanitizer out there. I need something that will kill just about anything I can come across. And please let me knwo where I can pick it up.

[Kahuna5150]

SWAT,

How many times have I found myself in the same boat as you! It is even worse when you have to wrestle a bloody suspect. My first words of wisdom would be to invest in a latex glove carrier for your duty belt. When I was in uniform I carried 3 pairs of gloves in a pouch on my belt. It never failed we would be going to arrest a drunk, or some bloody suspect and I would whip out a pair of gloves for safety. The other 2 pairs would go right away as well (as the officers with me all asked for an extra pair). I would say gloves are probably the most important aspect of safety equipment short of your radio, gun, vest, asp, and OC, (so pretty much after all your other stuff).

I use gloves more than anything else generally...

If you do have to get some nasties on your hands even with gloves and you need a quick anti-bacterial wash in the field I would suggest...

A gel form or wipes that contain PCMX and SD alcohol. You can find them almost anywhere. I found some on Galls website under personal safety and medical supplies. www.galls.com

Hope that helps!

Good luck...

Kahuna

[PonchIUP]

Just like Kahuna said I carry at least 2 pairs of gloves and that instant hand sanitation you can buy at wal-mart. They have it right by most registers. It's really cheap too. It kills like 99.9% of germs on contact.

[Serpico6]

I have to agree, double up on the gloves when in doubt. I’ve been know to wash with Bleach and or Hydrogen Peroxide. But, then again I’m a little obsessive compulsive.

But really, the best I’ve found is the Vionex line. You might want to try the "Vionex No Rinse Gel" (for no water situation) and the Vionex Antimicrobial Liquid Soap (for with water situations.) You might have a hard time fining these at Wal-Mart, but you can get them at surgical supply shops like SurgicalSupplyService.com. Good luck, and wash them hands.

[SWAT1088]

thanx for the help, i orderd some of the vionex stuff, hopefully it will get here soon.

[996s]

Most cars that a do more then a really simple search on I always wear gloves. You never know who was picking there nose in the car. I keep usually 2-3 pairs of gloves on my belt in a glove pouch. You never know when you are gonna need to to either First Aid, or have to search a bloody, sweaty, or smelly suspect.

As for cleaning up. I always keep some purell in my duty bag and usually have at least one purell hand wipe in my glove pouch on me. It says it kills 99.99% of germs? I dunno it works. You can get it all at walmart for a few dollars. Galls will sell you some thicker gloves, or other stuff. Just seems like it cost a little more for about the same.

Thick Latex Gloves... $.09
Purell... $1.09
Purell hand wipes, indivdualy wrapped moist towelette. $.20 each
Not getting Hep C... priceless

[relative]

I use a product by SAFETEC. Its just a hand antiseptic that is mostly ethyl alcohol. Its nice because you dont need anything to wash with it or anything to dry it off as it pretty much dries itself within a couple seconds.

Also, anytime we pick up/drop off people at different county facilities Ill steal a set or two of their latex gloves that they have in the ports. That way I always have some extra in case I need them.

Also X2. A lot of the guys I work with have gloves made for doing searches and are cut/stab resistant (ie made out of kevlar) and that are also made to withstand bodily fluids leaking into them.

Have fun

-r.

[myk]

If you cannot afford or simply dont want to spend the money on all the hand protection and sanitizers there is a very easy way to get a supply. Be nice to the EMTs and Paramedics on the ambulances in your area. When I worked as a Paramedic I had absolutely no problem supplying the officers in my area with gloves, sanitizing sprays (both for hands and equipment), and antiviral/antibacterial hand wipes. The best thing about it is that most companies provide absolutely the top of the line protective solutions for the EMS crews. If you happen to have a latex allergy and cannot wear the standard latex gloves all EMS companies stock their crews with latex free (nitrile) gloves also. TB is unfortunately on the rise again, so you may want to make sure you carry a few of the standard surgical masks to put on some of your coughing suspects. Those wipes are also pretty good at cleaning minor scrapes and cuts to help you avoid infection until you can get it really cleaned and bandaged. Hospitals are more likely to complain or get upset if you keep nabbing their supplies, but EMS crews are usually very accomodating. Just a little info.

[five-oh]

My dept. issues Vionex in bottles and individual use wipes. The wipes are great to shove a few in your pocket 'cause you never know when you'll need one.

I usually wipe down the inside of my car before shift since we get our cars from a pool. You never know what the last guy touched last shift.

[Stusmeister]

I agree with everyone that gloves are the first line of defense. In just the six weeks I've been working I've gone though around 50 pair. Luckily the department provides them. I use the Purell hand sanitizer and I just started carrying the anti-bacterial wet ones. They come in handy for taking off finger print dust that gets everywhere and for making you feel just a bit cleaner. I know how I felt after searching my first dead body and even though I was wearing the gloves my skin still crawled. If anything, I'm overly cautious because I don't want to bring home anything to my family that I catch at work.

The Stusmeister

[q]

I carry the Vionex wipes in my patrol bag. They are availible from galls in gel or prepackaged wipes and are designed for the public safety professional. They contain nonoxol-9 which kills HIV and other cooties. They also have alcohol and other anti-viral agents.

[relative]

Nonoxol-9 kills the HIV virus? Hows that work? If thats the case why dont people with HIV just swallow some of the stuff?

-r.

[q]

Clorox will kill HIV too. Drain O will clean out your digestive system but if you ingest it it will kill you too. It defeats the purpose.