Is it really good to wash your hands with hand sanitizer?

Is it really good to wash your hands with hand sanitizer? From childhood, our parents have taught us to wash our hands frequently, and that good hygiene is very important to prevent bacterially infection. 

In recent years, hand sanitizer has gradually replaced soap because of its convenience and hygiene. However, you have not thought that excessive use of hand sanitizer will also bring stimulation to human health.

Some experts pointed out that it is necessary to set up hand sanitizer in public places such as hospitals, which are often exposed to pathogenic microorganisms. Especially in the peak season of the respiratory virus, which is from November to April. Soap is enough for daily use.

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• Is it really good to wash your hands with hand sanitizer?

Soap has the same bactericidal effect as hand sanitizer.

1. Kill specific bacteria

Soap and hand sanitizer can kill some pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria that can cause diarrhea, enteritis, abdominal pain, abdominal distention and other side effects.

2. Remove dirt and grease

Dirt and grease can be removed from your hands after hiking, camping, or cooking.

3. Remove pesticides and chemicals

A study in Washington assessed pesticide exposure among the orchard workers and children at home. The results showed that the cleaning effect of hand sanitizer for high concentration pesticides was far better than that of soap.

If you don't have soap and clean water in your area, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using alcohol to clean your hands. Alcohol is also an effective bacterial killer.

In addition, experts listed some harmful substances and ingredients in hand sanitizer.

1. chlorhexidine

The preservatives and antibacterial agents contained in hand sanitizer are called chlorhexidine. Abuse can lead to drug resistance and mutation of bacteria. If the concentration of chlorhexidine is more than 4%, contact dermatitis can also be caused.

2. Triclosan

Triclosan is an ingredient found in hand sanitizers, toothpaste, and other personal care products as an antibacterial agent. Some studies have shown that it does more harm than good. Like chlorhexidine, it's a known ingredient that causes microbial resistance. 

Triclosan is associated with hormonal disorders in animal studies. This means it affects the brain, immune system, and reproductive system, leading to obesity, puberty, infertility, and cancer. Other studies have shown that it can damage learning and memory, aggravate allergies, and weaken muscle strength.

3. Alcohol (for children)

Children should be kept away from alcohol-containing hand disinfectants. These hand sanitizers usually smell like candy, and if your child mistook them for food, it's bad. They also contain 40 to 95 percent alcohol, which is higher than spirits, almost six times as much as wine. Alcoholism can cause some mild effects, such as confusion, vomiting, and drowsiness. In the worst case, it can also cause a respiratory arrest or even death.

Despite these reasons, many people choose hand sanitizers to prevent potentially life-threatening, incurable infections, such as Staphylococcus aureus. Some people are afraid that they will use a lot of hand sanitizer if they don't wash their hands thoroughly. It's also very dangerous to rub hard when washing.

A large amount of hand sanitizer rubs hard, which may damage the skin and make the bacteria easier to invade. So just use one drop at a time. If you can't master the quantity well, you can tie a few circles of leather under the pressing mouth of the hand sanitizer, which can prevent you from pressing the hand sanitizer to the bottom and squeezing out too much hand sanitizer. It is safe and economical. After washing your hands with hand sanitizer, your hands will be dry. You'd better apply some moisturizing hand cream to protect your hands.

Which is the best bactericidal effect for the hand sanitizer and soap of coronavirus

At present, during the epidemic, experts encourage us to wash our hands frequently, and it is better to use hand sanitizer or soap and other products to wash our hands. Many people have questions about whether it is better to use hand sanitizer or soap?

It is believed that most people choose hand sanitizer because it is convenient to use, can sterilize, and has the function of moistening skin. But a recent article in Canadian life magazine pointed out that hand sanitizer can't replace soap.

The main purpose of handwashing is to remove dirt, sterilize and disinfect, while hand sanitizer can only meet its bactericidal effect, because most hand sanitizer contains alcohol, and alcohol cannot effectively remove some dirt attached to small cracks in the skin, such as dust, mud, blood stains, etc., so once the hands are stained with such dirt, it is not enough to only use hand sanitizer. 

It can be seen that the premise of using hand sanitizer is to remove the dirt first. Therefore, in this case, soap should be used to wash hands, rather than just using hand sanitizer. In fact, going to the hospital will find that many doctors use soap to wash their hands, not because the price of soap is cheap.

Which disinfectant effect is good between hand sanitizer and soap? 
Which is good between coronavirus hand sanitizer and soap?

Of course, not all hand sanitizers contain the same ingredients. If the alcohol content in the hand sanitizer is less than 60%, the bactericidal effect will be greatly reduced. If you use this kind of hand sanitizer to wash your hands, it has no effect. When purchasing hand sanitizer, pay attention to check the content of effective ingredients marked on the label of the product. 

Some hand sanitizers will be marked with alcohol, p-aminobenzoic acid, and isopropanol instead of alcohol. It needs to be confirmed that no matter which forms the label is in, its content should be between 60% and 95%. If the content is less than 60%, it cannot effectively kill viruses and bacteria. However, the higher the alcohol content, the better. If the alcohol content is higher than 95% or pure alcohol, the bactericidal effect will be inhibited.

Hand sanitizer can only be used as a backup of soap. The best way to wash hands is to wash hands with soap to remove dirt, and then use hand sanitizer to sterilize and moisturize skin. When using hand sanitizer, it is not more beneficial. It is enough to press a drop every time. 

After repeatedly scrubbing the hand, wash it with flowing water for more than 15 seconds, so that the hand sanitizer can be thoroughly cleaned. Although many hand sanitizers contain skincare ingredients, if you wash your hands frequently in dry winter, it will still cause dry skin on your hands. Therefore, you should apply special moisturizing hand cream after washing your hands.

Hand sanitizer is specially used for hand washing, so it may be better to use hand sanitizer in disinfection.

The top 100 thousand hand sanitizers can't kill the new coronavirus, only one is really useful

A sudden epidemic has made ordinary masks a scarce resource, and all kinds of disinfection products are almost out of stock, such as alcohol, 84 disinfectant, as well as the essential artifact for going to work on the subway and reworking on the train - wash free hand sanitizer.

Under the epidemic situation, endless business opportunities have been generated. All kinds of hand sanitizers have started to be labeled as "defeat the epidemic, disinfect and sterilize". With the hype, sales of hand sanitizers have naturally increased all the way.

The editor searched on an e-commerce website with the keyword of "wash free hand sanitizer". As expected, the monthly sales volume of most products has doubled several times compared with the usual, and many of them have even reached more.

However, a closer look at the ingredients found that many of the best-selling hand sanitizers are not all effective against the new coronavirus.

Today, let's see which hand sanitizers are invalid and which ones are really recommended. Before you rush to place an order for payment, you need to polish your eyes.

For many people, the word "plant extract" has almost become a synonym for natural health, safety, and effectiveness.

In the vast market of hand sanitizer, there are many people who take it as a propaganda point. Coconut oil extract, calendula extract, purslane extract... A wide variety.

However, some hand sanitizer products based on plant extracts also claim to be resistant to new coronavirus.

So far, however, there is no specific drug for the prevention and treatment of the new coronavirus.

The official recommended killing ingredients have not been found in any plant extracts.

The main component is chlorhexidine

Chlorhexidine, also known as chlorhexidine, is a kind of low-efficiency disinfectant. Because of its good germicidal effect, it also has a place in the field of sterilization.

But in this outbreak, chlorhexidine is an invalid ingredient officially sealed.

Hand sanitizer with alcohol content less than 60%

Can't kill new coronavirus effectively, not recommended.

There are also some products whose trade name is alcohol, but the alcohol content is not high.

For example, if you look at the package carefully, the alcohol concentration is only 28% - 34%, less than half of the regular hand sanitizer.

Such hands-free hand sanitizer can't be used normally to have a good disinfection effect, and it's not enough to eliminate the coronavirus.

Alcohol concentration during an epidemic 60% - 80% hand sanitizer

In terms of ingredients, hand sanitizer can be roughly divided into alcohol (ethanol) and non-alcohol.

The novel coronavirus, which has a coating on the structure, can be damaged by alcohol. Therefore, it is recommended that the alcohol-free hand washing liquid be made of alcohol.

However, as we said before, alcohol alone is not enough. It depends on the concentration.

The novel coronavirus pneumonia diagnosis and treatment plan (trial version sixth) mentioned: 75% of ethanol can effectively inactivate the virus.

But that doesn't mean 75% alcohol is necessary. According to the recommendation of the World Health Organization (who), 60% - 80% of alcohol concentration can be selected. If the concentration is too high (90% or even 95%), the effect will not be good. You can focus on the packaging when you are buying, basically, the alcohol content will be marked.

In addition, the following two points should be paid attention to when using hand sanitizer.

1. Keep it out of children's reach to avoid eating by mistake

The concentration of alcohol-free hand sanitizer is basically very high. Children can be "drunk" by knocking two small bottles of alcohol hand sanitizer. In serious cases, alcohol poisoning must be properly kept by parents.

2. Use correctly and give full play to the protective effect

According to the product manual, the reasonable dosage is just the size of 1 yuan coin (about 24 mm in diameter); rub your hands until the hands are dry, about 30 seconds; pay attention to fully cover the finger joints, fingertips and other parts.

It is undeniable that hand sanitizer is indeed convenient for our life, but we still need to emphasize that:

Hand sanitizer can not replace conventional soap/hand sanitizer + running water cleaning.

Although hand sanitizer can disinfect, it can't decontaminate. When there is organic dirt or especially dirty hands, the effect of alcohol is not as good as that of water washing.

While the method of water + Soap/hand sanitizer can't directly sterilize, as long as washing hands according to the correct process, most bacteria and viruses will also leave the skin surface with the soap sanitizer and wash away with the water.

Therefore, it's OK to use the hand sanitizer in an emergency, but after using it, you still need to wash it off when you have the conditions to wash your hands.

In the case of running water, wash your hands with water.

Foam wash liquid and ordinary hand washing liquid which is good? 3 steps to wash hands.

We need to wash our hands every day. Our hands are the most accessible part of bacteria. So we should wash our hands with handwashing products. Water is not able to wash out stubborn bacteria, but there are many kinds of hand sanitizers. Let's take a look at the foam washing liquid and hand washing liquid in the next 5 net.

Which is better for foam hand sanitizers and hand sanitizers?

There are many forms of hand sanitizer, the most common being liquid. In recent years, there are much new foam state and gel state hand washing liquid, which enriches the market demand.

(a) Liquid type

Liquid hand sanitizer is the most basic type, which has the advantage of strong cleaning power and can effectively inhibit the growth of bacteria. But compared with other hand sanitizers, washing time is slower. Liquid hand sanitizers need to be rubbed to produce foam. When they are used, they must cooperate with the water to completely release the cleaning power and have the ability to deal with complex stains well.

(b) foam type

Foam hand sanitizers are usually equipped with a special pump head, which is a foam state when extruded. Compared with the liquid hand sanitizer, the foaming action is omitted, and the washing is more economical, but the cleaning power is slightly weaker. Because of the larger density, the adhesion to the stubborn stains will be slightly worse. So when we use it, we need to squeeze enough volume so that the foam will completely cover both hands, so that we can achieve the desired result.

(c) Gel type

Because of the larger density, the adhesion to the stubborn stains will be slightly worse. So when we use it, we need to squeeze enough volume so that the foam will completely cover both hands, so that we can achieve the desired result. Gel-like hand sanitizer is very suitable for carrying out, no need to wash, easy to clean. In order to achieve the volatile effect, most of the gel-like hand sanitizers on the market contain alcohol. People who are allergic to alcohol can choose conventional hand sanitizer.

How to choose the right-hand sanitizer

1. Select by efficacy

Hand sanitizer not only cleans the hands but also has some skincare effects. Can take care of our hand skin in an all-round way.

(a) Moisturizing

Moisturizing hand sanitizer is less alkaline and will not take away water from hands after cleaning. It can effectively protect hands and keep them clean and mild. Moisturizing hand sanitizer is very suitable for use in winter. The climate is dry in winter, and the hand will dry up if you don't pay attention to it. Moisturizing hand sanitizer can effectively lock in moisture.

(b) Antibacterial

Antibacterial hand sanitizer can change the permeability of bacterial cell wall and make bacteria suffocate and die through the biodegradable components in the ingredients, so as to achieve the effect of eliminating bacteria. The active ingredients of antibacterial hand sanitizer can ensure that the skin will not be damaged when the fungus is killed, and it is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory.

2. Select the fragrance

In addition to form and efficacy, hand sanitizer also has many fragrances. The different fragrances of hand sanitizer will bring different experiences and affect people's moods.

(a) Aloe flavor

Aloe Vera scent comes mostly from Aloe Vera essence in hand sanitizer. It also gives off the fragrance of Aloe Vera when it is sterilized and moisturizing. Aloe, as a kind of plant, its fragrance tends to be herbaceous. The fragrance it sends out will not be too rich, will not stimulate the nasal cavity, and will not be burdened by the elderly, children, or rhinitis patients.

(b) Lemon flavor

The lemon flavor is the freshest fruit flavor, not too sweet and greasy. Hands are clean and refreshing. Lemon Hand Sanitizer is very suitable for home use. The fresh lemon fragrance is suitable for all ages. It is mild and non-irritating, giving people a moist and cool experience.

Can hand sanitizer replace handwashing?

No. It's easy to explain this problem. Hand sanitizer can only have a certain bactericidal effect, but it can't decontaminate, so using hand sanitizer can't completely replace hand sanitizer. Specifically speaking, the wash free hand sanitizer is basically alcohol as the main bactericidal component, which can kill most viruses, pathogenic bacteria, etc., and maintain the bacteriostatic effect in a certain period of time. But there's really nothing you can do about the dirt on your hands - no matter how much you use, it's still on your hands.

Can hand sanitizer be used in public places?

Be careful when using hand sanitizer in public places. The hand sanitizer itself is rich in nutrients. If the time is too long or the change is not timely, it is easy to cause the growth and reproduction of microorganisms. 

At this time, there will be blistering, stratification, oil-water separation, and odor. Such hand sanitizer will pollute hands and attract germs. Therefore, before using hand sanitizer in public places, check whether the surface of the hand sanitizer box is clean, if the ash layer and dirt fall, do not use it. 

At the same time, if the box does not change for a long time, it will also be easy to accumulate bacteria for a long time. Therefore, it is recommended to clean the hand sanitizer box regularly. Although hand sanitizer is provided free in many public places, there are often many inferior products that do not meet the standards, so it is recommended to avoid using the outside hand sanitizer as much as possible, and it is better to carry the disinfectant paper towel to eliminate its poison.

Important details of hand washing

Just flushing is about not washing your hands! Many people ignore the important details of hand washing

During the epidemic, many people have known that frequent hand washing is the simplest, most effective, and most economical way to prevent infection.

But many people wash their hands, and they can't really reduce the threat of bacterial viruses.

If you also ignore the key factor of handwashing time, it is likely that your hands will be washed in vain.

How long does it take to wash your hands?

If you think about it a little bit, you can see that the time needed to wash your hands is related to too many factors. First of all, how dirty your hands are.

Because although everyone has the same hands, they are not dirty and how dirty they are.

If the hands are covered with lard, it will take a lot longer to wash hands than if the hands are covered with a little mud;

A doctor who is about to go to the operating table must wash his hands longer than usual to ensure that the pathogens on his hands fall to a safe range;

Washing hands with water alone will definitely take longer than washing hands with soap to achieve the same level of cleanliness.

Therefore, the time needed for handwashing is closely related to the type and quantity of stains on hands, the cleaning ability of detergent, the method and speed of hand rubbing, the risks faced by everyone, and other factors.

At present, many authorities (such as the Centers for Disease Control and the Canadian Public Health Bureau) recommend that you wash your hands with soap or hand sanitizer for at least 20 seconds, while the World Health Organization recommends that you wash your hands with soap or hand sanitizer for 40 to 60 seconds.

There is also a more intuitive suggestion:

After singing the happy birthday song twice and washing your hands at the same time, the time is up to the standard.

Why must it take so long? There are two reasons. The first one is........

You will be lazy!

In 2011, a British research team conducted a comparative experiment of hand washing, in which the subjects were randomly asked to take a bus or visit a museum, and then divided into three categories:

Wash hands with ordinary soap or hand sanitizer. Wash hands only with water, not with hand sanitizer.

In this way, the researchers asked each participant to repeat the test 24 times without any guidance and the results showed that:

Even under supervision, the average time for participants to wash their hands with soap are only 14 seconds, while the average time for participants to wash their hands with water is only 12 seconds, far less than the time recommended by major institutions.

If you pay attention, in normal life, when there is no supervision, more people feel washed in five or six seconds.

After the baptism of this epidemic situation, let's not save these tens of seconds or even seconds

Back to hand washing, although using soap or hand sanitizer will prolong the time of hand washing, if the time of washing is not enough, can it effectively remove the bacterial virus?

That leads to the second reason.......

Wash with soap or hand sanitizer for 20 seconds

Bacteria can be reduced effectively

Daily mail once reported an experiment that perfectly showed the effect of handwashing at different washing times.

They came up with a product that mimics bacteria, Glo germ, and they put it all over their hands. Glo germs will glow under ultraviolet radiation. Take photos after washing your hands. The brighter the hands are, the dirtier the hands are. The darker the hands are, the cleaner the hands are.

The results are as shown in the figure below. It is obvious that if the time of hand washing is too short (for example, the time of hand washing is less than 15 seconds), only flushing water without soap or hand sanitizer, the luminous bacteria will be eaten into the stomach and touched into the nose.

Washing your hands is not a fake. Use soap for 20 seconds. Remember. (soap or hand sanitizer)

In addition to time, there are two points to be noted

Having said so much, we know that when washing hands, the time of rubbing with soap solution is too short to effectively reduce the number of microorganisms on hands.

20 seconds is not a hard rule, but it is more reliable for daily use. Just 20 seconds can not only ensure that the number of pathogens on the hand is reduced to a low enough level, but also minimize the damage to the skin.

In addition, there are two things to note:

1. Without soap or hand sanitizer, simply flushing water is equal to whitewashing

Students at discovery elementary school in Iowa, USA, have done a very intuitive experiment. They touch the fresh bread with different hands and then put the bread into the plastic bag. After a period of time, they observe the deterioration of the bread caused by bacterial reproduction.

The results are as follows:

Number 2, first piece of bread, untouched

No. 3, the second piece of bread, unwashed hand touch

No. 4, the third piece of bread, soap, or hand sanitizer

No. 5, the fourth piece of bread, a hand touched by ordinary no washing disinfectant

No. 1, the fifth piece of bread, wiped the keyboard of the school laptop

As a result, the bread rubbed by unwashed hands (No. 3) and laptop keyboard (No. 1) grew large "green hairs" It's terrible not to wash your hands! No. 5 bread has been washed my hands without washing disinfectant. Although it looks clean, it also grows a small piece of mildew. Comparison of 4 (soap washing) and 5 (hand sanitizer) shows that general hand sanitizer cannot replace soap or hand sanitizer. It is better to use a hand sanitizer quietly as a spare tire.

As long as possible, we should stick to using soap or hand sanitizer to wash under running water.

2. Turn off the faucet + dry your hands. Don't be a shake hands shopkeeper

After rubbing and washing, there are two important steps: dry your hands and turn off the tap.

Don't underestimate these two steps. If you don't do it well, your hands will be infected with bacteria and viruses again. The previous handwashing has become a waste of effort.

This is because wet hands can not only bring bacteria and viruses to other places through falling water drops but also provide a more friendly environment for bacteria to reproduce.

And dry your hands, not only to wipe off the water, some bacteria and viruses that leak out of the net can also be separated from your hands.

It is precisely for this reason that the towel is not recommended for hand cleaning, let alone wet towel, because once repeatedly used, it will not be clean, it is more recommended to dry disposable paper towel gently.

In the same way, when turning off the faucet, don't touch it with your hand directly. It's recommended to turn off it with disposable tissue.

If there is no disposable tissue, the next way is to turn off the tap with your wrist or elbow.

Finally, let me tell you to hand washing tips It is said that everyone who looks good can easily wash for 20 seconds. 

WHO: How to handwash? With soap and water

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