Is Too Much Hand Sanitizer Harmful? Dr. Mallika Marshall Answers Your Coronavirus Questions
BOSTON (CBS) – Dr. Mallika Marshall is answering your coronavirus-related medical questions. If you have a question for Dr. Mallika, email her or message her on Facebook or Twitter.
Dr. Mallika is offering her best advice, but as always, consult your personal doctor before making any decisions about your personal health.
"I deliver meals-on-wheels and we're required to use hand sanitizer at every home. That means 16 times in an hour. Is it necessary to keep applying it and is it harmful to use it so often?" -Nancy from Hancock, NH
It's not a bad idea to use hand sanitizer between deliveries so that you're not delivering contaminated packages or getting contaminated yourself ringing doorbells, for example. Frequent hand sanitizer use is generally safe, but it can be drying to your hands. So use a good moisturizer regularly.
Denise wants to know how effectively masks protect the wearer from people who aren't wearing masks.
Wearing a mask primarily protects the people around you, but it can protect you as well from other people's respiratory droplets. That said, it's not 100%, so if people around you aren't wearing masks, you need to stay away from them.
"I tested positive for COVID. How long should I wait to do the next test?" -Rezene
If you have tested positive for the coronavirus, you don't necessarily need to get tested again to prove that you're negative. You could continue to have a positive test for several weeks even if you're feeling better and no longer considered contagious. What's most important is that you follow the isolation guidelines before you return to normal activities.
Kay wonders if it's safe for her co-worker to take her mask off while they are separated by 7 feet in the same room.
Whenever you're in an indoor setting with co-workers in close proximity, it's safer to keep your masks on. It would be different if you were in your own separate offices.
