Keeping your hands clean stops the transmission of many dangerous diseases. You may wash your hands with water and soap or you can sanitize them using hand sanitizers.
What is hand sanitizer? A hand sanitizer is a gel, foam, and liquid solution that kills bacteria and viruses. It is often used for cleaning hands when soap and water are not available. You will find two types of hand sanitizers, alcohol based hand sanitizers and non-alcohol hand sanitizers.
Alcohol based hand sanitizers use alcohol to kill most bacteria, fungi and some viruses. You can find different amount of concentration of alcohol in different sanitizers. Some have as much as 85% of alcohol whereas others have 60%. Common hand sanitizers found in the market contain 62% of alcohol. The most common brands of alcohol hand rubs include Purell sanitizers, Avant, Sterillium, Desderman and Allsept S.
Some hand sanitizers come with extra ingredients including natural products and essential oils. These hand sanitizers can kill germs as well as moisturize your skin. Hospitals use sanitizer dispensers equipped with elbow controlled mechanism to stop any contact with the pump.
Non-alcohol based hand sanitizers use small concentration of benzalkonium chloride or triclosan to kill gems.
Alcohol is a preservative. As they do not contain alcohol, the non-alcohol based hand sanitizers. can become contaminated.
How to Utilize Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizers could kill most gems immediately while on your skin. What is the correct way to use it and when should we use it?
The proper way of using hand sanitizer is as shown below:
- Apply enough solution to the palm of one hand.
- Rub your hands together. Cover both hands and fingers with the solution. Keep rubbing until your hands are dry.
- Wash your hands with soap and water if they hands are visibly dirty.
- When to apply the solution? It would be a good idea to sanitizer your hands:
- before and after preparing food.
- before meals.
- before and after treating wounds.
- after using the toilet.
- after touching an animal.
- after handling something that could be contaminated, such as garbage.
Benefits of Hand Sanitizers
Most people think that the alcohol based hand sanitizers could make your skin dry. Well it is true. However, it dries skin less than hand washing with soap and water.
Hand sanitizers kill many bacteria such as antibiotic resistant bacteria and TB bacteria. They also kill viruses such as flu virus, the common cold virus, and HIV.
Hand sanitizers also kill fungi.
The Risk
Alcohol based hand sanitizers can catch fire because of its alcohol content. However, some hand sanitizers with high concentration of water or moisturizing content may not produce this effect. Rubbing your hands until dry could minimize the risk of fire. This indicates that flammable alcohol has evaporated into the air.
