With One Dip, Pen-X Stops Spread Of Viruses And Bacteria

OLDSMAR, Fla., Feb. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- How many hands touch the pens at the doctor's office, the bank, the teacher's desk each day? And how many viruses -- colds or flu -- and bacteria like MRSA are on those pens? It's enough to make anyone start wearing gloves full-time. Fortunately, that's not necessary, thanks to Pen-X ( http://www.pen-x.com), the first writing instrument sanitizer.

Pen-X was created by Tami Rodriguez, a healthcare worker, and her husband Joe. Tami Rodriguez had noticed that healthcare workers rarely sterilized any writing instruments, and together the Rodriguezes began researching the types and amounts of germs found on pens in hospitals and other medical office settings. Their suspicions were correct: Most pens studied had been shown to have multiple colonies of bacteria, and all were considered fomites, or inanimate objects capable of transmitting germs or viruses between people.

"We all know the writing pen can be one of the biggest sources of transmission regarding the spread of infection," stated Joe Rodriguez. "Studies have shown that pens from healthcare workers have tested positive for viruses and bacteria, including influenza, VRE and MRSA. Studies have also shown that wiping down these pens with an alcohol-based cleaning agent significantly stopped the growth and spread of these germs."

Reasoning that few people will take the time to wipe down a pen with alcohol, the Rodriguezes knew they had to provide a way to stop the spread of infectious disease via writing utensils that people would actually use. They hit upon a quick and inexpensive solution to the problem: Pen-X. Available in a sturdy, no-tip tabletop bottle, Pen-X is easy to use. Simply dip the pen into the Pen-X cleaning and sanitizing solution, and that's it. The solution dries in seconds without interfering with the pen's effectiveness, yet it kills 99.9% of germs.