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Sprixx Announces New Unscented Formula for Wearable Hand Sanitizer

Fri, 28 Jan 2005, 11:55:00 EST

Edited by Christopher Laird Simmons

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. /Send2Press Newswire/ -- Sprixx (www.sprixx.com), a DBA of Harbor Medical, Inc., has announced the availability of a new unscented alcohol hand sanitizer formula for its line of professional body-worn hand sanitizers. Containing 63% ethyl alcohol with emollients, the new product is available for the popular Sprixx XE Dispenser which is delivered in a 1.35-ounce replacement cartridge.



Caption: Sprixx Unscented Formula Wearable Hand Sanitizer.

The XE personal dispenser looks like a beeper, is clipped to belt or clothing, operates with a single hand, and is ergonomically designed to sanitize hands on-the-go without interrupting workflow. The new unscented formula is also available for the Sprixx HP 2.36 oz spray bottle which fits into the unique HP holster that clips to belt, cloths, or objects.

Sprixx is a hand hygiene breakthrough in the national effort to stem the tide of health care acquired infections. The Sprixx dispensers are the most aggressive expression of Joint Commission's (JCAHO) Patient Safety Goal 7 and the CDC hand hygiene guidelines initiatives. The CDC guidelines Recommendation 8.D calls for health care workers to carry "individual pocket-sized container" in areas of high workload as well as access to wall mount dispensers. Therefore, JCAHO will audit for personal sanitizer containers.

Sprixx goes further to incorporate the intent of Recommendation 8.C. ("...provide HCWs with a readily accessible alcohol-based hand-rub product" and nothing is more accessible than Sprixx) and 8.A. ("Make improved hand-hygiene adherence an institutional priority and provide appropriate administrative support and financial resources"). Finally, the guidelines research agenda makes a call to "Develop devices to facilitate the use and optimal application of hand-hygiene agents."

The new Sprixx Unscented Formula is more appropriate in many professional settings and helps avoid the problem of staff personal preferences and sensitivities. An unscented formula is a better fit for most hospital settings. For example, ICU, NICU, and cancer patients are often sensitive to perfumes of any kind. With a scented formula, there is always a percentage of the staff that will not adapt well to it. The new unscented formula has a slight alcohol scent when first used and then quickly dissipates as the alcohol evaporates leaving only fresh, germ free hands.


Hands the #1 Culprit

The CDC always lists hand hygiene as the number one measure to prevent the spread of infection. Hand hygiene compliance rarely exceeds 40% even in medical settings where everyone is fully aware of the problem and its magnitude.


CDC Recommends Alcohol

After a century of success in Europe, the use of waterless alcohol hand sanitizers has taken the U.S. by storm. In the newly updated "Guidelines for hand hygiene in health care settings," the CDC now recommends the use of alcohol hand sanitizers over hand washing when hands are not visibly soiled. The reason - it is faster, easier to use, less damaging to hands, more effective, and not contributing to the antibiotic resistance problem. Since those recommendations, hospitals across the country have been putting up alcohol sanitizer wall mount dispensers.

Key points from the CDC hand hygiene guidelines include:

1) Use an alcohol hand sanitizer when hands are not visibly soiled.

2) Accessibility and ease of use are the keys to compliance.



Hand Transmitted Infections Kill

The CDC estimates that each year 2 million patients develop hospital acquired (nosocomial) infections. An estimated 90,000 deaths are attributed to nosocomial infection each year and 75,000 of which were considered preventable. On average, infections complicate 7% to 10% of hospital admissions. The CDC now places nosocomial infections as the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. only behind heart attack, cancer, and stroke. The economic burden of nosocomial infections in the U.S. annually is estimated at more than $5 billion.

New antibiotic resistant mutated bugs such as VRE and MRSA contribute to the problem. Mutating infections have become increasingly difficult to treat even with the most powerful antibiotics.


Additional information: www.sprixx.com

Sprixx is a DBA of Harbor Medical, Inc., of Santa Barbara, CA. For more information on Sprixx, phone 866-477-7499, visit the special press page at www.sprixx.com/press, or email rcagle @ life-like.com.

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