Hand washing and hand sanitizers can rid you of bacteria, viruses and germs. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises using hand washing as your first option, and notes that sanitizers aren't effective in certain situations, such as when your hands are visibly soiled. Using the right kind of sanitizer--and proper technique for soap washing and sanitizer application--are important as well if you want them to be effective for preventing illness.
Expert Insight
Hand washing and hand sanitizer application must be done properly to be effective. Scrub all surfaces of your hand for 20 seconds after making a lather with the soap, advises the CDC. Alcohol-based sanitizer also must coat all surfaces of your hands. Keep rubbing your hands until the sanitizer dries for it to be effective. If your hands dry faster than 10 to 15 seconds, you didn't use enough sanitizer, the Minnesota Department of Health says.
Considerations
Hand sanitizer is not considered a substitute for hand washing in food service settings, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. That’s because people who work with food often have hands that get wet or contaminated with proteins or fatty materials. All of these significantly reduce effectiveness of hand sanitizer. Feces and blood also reduce sanitizer’s effectiveness. Also, hand sanitizer doesn't kill norovirus, the leading cause of foodborne outbreaks, the department says.
Effects
Sanitizers are encouraged in schools in many areas. One study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that absenteeism in elementary schools is reduced significantly when alcohol gel hand sanitizer is added into the hand hygiene regimen. Lead study author B. Hammond notes there is difficulty in ensuring effective and consistent hand washing among elementary students. The study examined absenteeism rates among 6,000 students in California, Delaware, Tennessee and Ohio. Absenteeism rates due to infection dropped 19.8 percent in schools that added hand sanitizer in classrooms compared with control schools, which did not use sanitizer. A second study, published in Family Medicine, also found that daily use of alcohol-based sanitizer significantly lowers illness-related absenteeism in schools, according to lead author D.L. Dyer. This study examined 420 elementary-age children who were advised to use the sanitizer in addition to their normal soap and water hand washing after entering the classroom, after using the bathroom and before eating. Compared to kids who used hand washing only, the students who added sanitizer to their regimen had 41.9 percent fewer illness-related absences, Dyer notes.
Function
You should use traditional hand washing in certain situations, the New York City Department of Health says. These include any time your hands are visibly soiled, after you have contact with body fluids such as when changing a diaper or using the bathroom, or before you eat or prepare food. You can use sanitizer instead if your hands are not visibly soiled. This applies to times before and after contact with a sick person and after sneezing, blowing your nose or coughing--though hand washing is a better option.
Features
Your hand sanitizer has to have at least 60 percent alcohol to be effective, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. As for soap, antibacterial soap really isn’t any more effective for killing germs than regular soap, the Mayo Clinic says.
References
- Centers for Disease Control: Clean Hands
- Centers for Disease Control: Stop the Spread of Germs at Work
- Minnesota Department of Health: Hand Sanitizers—Not a Replacement for Handwashing
- “American Journal of Infection Control;” Sanitizer use; B. Hammond et al.; 2000
- PubMed.gov: “Family Medicine;” Alcohol-free instant hand sanitizer reduces elementary school illness absenteeism; D.L. Dyer et al.; 2000
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