The answer: Well, it all depends. It actually depends on several factors.
First, whether hand sanitizer is effective depends on whether the alcohol content of the hand sanitizer is adequate. The hand sanitizer must contain 70% rubbing alcohol. Fifty percent alcohol is not strong enough. Ninety-one percent alcohol will evaporate before it penetrates into the microbes and kills them. The alcohol content should be indicated on the hand sanitizer label. However, if the hand sanitizer is older, some of the alcohol content may have evaporated, and it may not be as strong as when it was manufactured. This is one of the few instances in medicine where the use-by date should be taken seriously. Maintain a careful inventory of your hand sanitizer and rotate it well. If older hand sanitizer is all you have, make sure to apply it two or three times and rub it in well.
Secondly, the hand sanitizer must come into direct contact with the microbes. If there is visible dirt or other waste on your hands, it must be removed first. So use a baby wipe, washcloth, or clothing if necessary to remove all visible dirt and particles. Then apply the hand sanitizer.
Next, hand sanitizer that is applied and rubbed in like lotion is not sufficient. To do its job, hand sanitizer should be applied liberally and rubbed in vigorously for at least twenty seconds, just as for washing hands with soap and water. However, that is just for regular, garden-variety viruses, not the real bad guys (which is what you really want protection from). A study published just last month by researchers in Japan showed that hand sanitizer being rubbed in for two full minutes did not kill the influenza A virus. It took four full minutes of rubbing in hand sanitizer to completely disable that virus. We can't get a lot of people in this country even to wash their hands for a few seconds after using the bathroom. Taking four minutes to use hand sanitizer probably isn't going to work.
Finally, hand sanitizer really should not be used as a substitute for routine handwashing. Yes, in some cases hand sanitizer works just as well as soap and water. But in others, like with influenza A, it definitely does not. Other microbes that hand sanitizer does not kill include:
- Protozoan cysts (like giardia)
- Bacterial spores (like botulism, tetanus, or C. diff)
- Cryptosporidium
- Poliovirus
- Hepatitis A virus
- Foot and mouth disease virus
In addition, the alcohol in hand sanitizer is very drying to the skin, and excessive use may result in dry, cracked skin. And dry, cracked skin is vulnerable to infection. Hand sanitizer should not be used in place of regular washing in the home. Washing with soap and water is the gold standard and should be used whenever possible.
Links to related posts:
Hand Washing
For further reading:
Armageddon Medicine, p 85.
https://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/patients/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/science/index.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-09/asfm-tbh091119.php
© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com
17 october 2021
Well, rats! I'd thought hand sanitizer was equivalent to washing your hands, and protected me during cold and flu season. I guess it's better than nothing, though.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, that's what most people think. It's what we've been led to believe. So as everyone else continues using just a dab of hand sanitizer to substitute for good handwashing, they spread disease everywhere they go. All the more reason for us to be more diligent in our personal hygiene.
DeleteInformative and interesting post. It sounds like hand sanitizer isn't the miracle tool we tend to think it is. That said, in my mind there is something icky about leaving the dried goop along with a bunch of dead microbes all over my hands. It grosses me out to think about it, lol.
ReplyDelete