Hand Sanitiser has become a saviour in the world afflicted with Coronavirus. Even a few months back, manufacturers or vendors could not imagine that there would be a skyrocketing demand for the product. Interestingly, hand sanitisers didn’t even exist five decades ago!

In the past, people used to depend on water and soaps to clean their hands. However, it was not always possible to do so at hospitals, and other public places. For Lupe Hernandez, it was indeed a time-consuming process! Hernandez, a nursing student in California’s Bakersfield in 1966, felt the need of such a thing that could aid her in getting her hands cleaned quickly, without using water and soaps. It was in 1966 when the idea of hand sanitiser struck the young lady.

Lupe Hernandez

Although there was no shortages of water and soaps, Hernandez thought that people had little time to clean their hands in a proper manner in a world moving at a fast pace. When hand sanitiser has become one of the most essential goods in our lives, very few remember its inventor. Even, it’s difficult to find sufficient information about her.
Hernandez used to live in Bakersfield, the city named after Colonel Thomas Baker, who settled in this region first in the 19th Century. Later, the Colonel inspired many to settle there. Hand sanitiser was discovered in this city, which is rich in fuel oil, natural gas and agricultural products. Keeping in mind the current global situation, one should consider the invention of hand sanitiser as Revolutionary!

Initially, Hernandez thought that in the absence of hot water and soaps, alcohol could be a proper alternative to clean hands. Then, she planned to prepare a gel by using alcohol. To give shape to her idea, she contacted a company that used to deal with patents. Later, the company helped her patent the hand sanitiser. Fifty-four years ago, the nursing student could not imagine that her discovery would become so important in the virus-affected world, one day! Earlier, the use of hand sanitiser was not so common, as only doctors, nurses and health professionals used the product. Slowly, it became popular among the US Army personnel.

Common people started using hand sanitiser in Europe and in the US during the H1N1 Epidemic in 2009. Thanks to the Economic Liberalisation, the Indian and other South Asian markets were flooded with hand sanitisers in the first decade of 21st Century. According to a study, it’s use is much higher among women than men! Before the spread of Coronavirus, the use of hand sanitiser was limited to certain urban classes. However, SARS and COVID-19 have increased the demand for hand sanitiser in Asian nations.

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the demand for liquid soap and hand sanitiser has increased by 400% in the global market. Meanwhile, experts are of the opinion that soap is far better than hand sanitiser in terms of disinfection. The problem is one cannot use soap without water. People can easily use sanitiser at public places. That is why people still shower praises on Hernandez in the 21st Century for making their fight against virus outbreak easier!

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das