Can 70% alcohol be used on skin?

Can I use it on my hands?

A hand sanitizer containing 70% alcohol exceeds the minimum 60% concentration for effective hand sanitizing. Use one when soap and water are unavailable, which gives the bottle a role without putting the sink into retirement. Soap and water remain the first choice for everyday handwashing, so the sink has not been made redundant. Wash rather than sanitize when hands are visibly dirty or greasy, or have touched harmful chemicals such as pesticides.2

To use hand sanitizer:

1. 1Apply the amount specified on the product label to one palm.
2. 2Rub over every surface of both hands, including thumbs, fingertips and between fingers.
3. 3Keep rubbing until your hands feel dry. This takes around 20 seconds; do not wipe the sanitizer off before it dries.

Alcohol hand sanitizers quickly reduce microbes but do not eliminate every type of germ, which is a fairly important limit for a name that sounds so thorough. Soap and water remove some germs, including norovirus, more effectively, which keeps handwashing from becoming a historical reenactment. In healthcare settings, alcohol hand sanitizer is preferred for most routine care when hands are not visibly soiled, and causes less irritation and dryness than soap and water. That advice concerns hand sanitizers, not using plain rubbing alcohol as skincare.24

Can I use rubbing alcohol on my face every day?

Do not make 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol a daily facial cleanser. Signature Care's US 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol is a first aid antiseptic, with instructions not to use it longer than one week or on irritated skin. Keep it away from eyes and mucous membranes, including the inside of your mouth and nose.1

For its labeled use on minor cuts, scrapes and burns, Signature Care directs you to clean the affected area, apply a small amount 1 to 3 times daily, and let it dry before covering with a sterile bandage. Do not apply it over large body areas. Stop if excessive irritation develops, and ask a doctor if the condition persists or worsens.1

Should I pour it into a cut?

No. For an ordinary small cut or graze, use water rather than an antiseptic, which can damage the skin. The rubbing alcohol label permits limited first aid use, but general wound care follows a different approach. Most small cuts and grazes start healing within a few days.35

Once bleeding has stopped:

1. 1Wash and dry your hands; wear disposable gloves if available.
2. 2Rinse the wound under running tap water for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. 3Clean the surrounding skin with soap and water, wiping away from the wound.
4. 4Pat dry with clean gauze or a clean towel, then apply a sterile dressing or plaster.
5. 5Keep the dressing clean and dry, changing it as needed.

After skin surgery, follow your team's wound care instructions instead. These can include keeping the wound dry for at least 48 hours and applying a prescribed ointment. Contact the team or your doctor for increasing warmth, redness, pain, swelling or leaking from the wound, or if you feel unwell.6

When should I get help?

Get urgent medical care for a deep or large wound, embedded debris, a bite, worsening redness or pain, or pus. Get emergency help if bleeding will not stop, or you lose feeling or have trouble moving near the wound. Do not remove an embedded object yourself.35

Rubbing alcohol is flammable: keep it away from heat, sparks and flames, use it in a ventilated area, and avoid inhaling it. Keep it out of children's reach. Never use rubbing alcohol for a child's fever sponge bath; absorption through the skin can make children very sick.17

If rubbing alcohol gets into the eyes or causes a harmful skin exposure, flush with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes and seek medical help. If swallowed, contact poison control immediately and do not induce vomiting. In the US, call Poison Help at 1 800 222 1222.7

Supervise children using hand sanitizer and store it out of their reach. Scented or brightly packaged sanitizers can tempt children to swallow them.2