Why hand washing is better than hand sanitizer?

Web Desk — An American study recently showed that proper hand-washing is the safest, most effective, least expensive, and most readily available way to prevent diseases like Coronavirus.

As a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Dr. Greg Poland says, “When you physically wash your hands, you’re removing visible dirt and mucus, you’re using soap to reduce surface tension, and you’re loosening, removing and washing away whatever is on your hand by friction.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the best way to prevent this virus is to wash your hands first – and only use hand sanitizer if you cannot wash them.

The CDC reports that studies have shown that soap and water are more effective than hand sanitizer at removing certain bugs such as Cryptosporidium, norovirus, and Clostridium difficile, which cause diarrhea.

It is particularly effective on very dirty hands, such as those you get when gardening, playing sports or wiping a runny nose with the back of your hand.

Hand sanitizer can’t reach all the skin’s surfaces if your hands are visibly soiled. Hand sanitizer cannot penetrate mucus. If you have flu, the flu virus is in that mucus. Hand-washing has been shown to get rid of the flu virus from hands much faster than hand sanitizer.

How to Hand-Wash Properly?

Clean, running water should be used to wet your hands. You can use warm or cold water. After wetting your hands, turn off the faucet and apply soap.

Hands should be lathered with soap by rubbing them together. Antibacterial soap is not necessary. Make sure to scrub the backs, palms, between the fingers, and under the fingernails of your hands.

Start at your fingertips and work backward.

Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds (sing or hum “Happy Birthday” twice if counting doesn’t work for you). The five seconds most people spend washing their hands don’t remove many microbes.

Rinse hands well under running water.

Dry hands using a clean towel or by air-drying them.

How to Use Hand Sanitizer Properly?

Don’t forget to apply enough. About a quarter to a half dollar’s worth of hand sanitizer is needed.

The sanitizer should be at least 60 percent alcohol-based.

Start at the fingertips and work your way back to disinfect your hand (don’t forget between your fingers). “Do that until it’s dry.” “That way you know you’ve had enough exposure time for that disinfectant to work.”

Do not wipe your hands on a paper towel or your pants to speed up the drying process.

Keeping some hand lotion or hand cream nearby is a good idea since hand sanitizer can be very drying.