Can alcohol-based products lead to antimicrobial resistance?
Resistance occurs when certain types of products are used excessively, and is more commonly associated with the over-prescription of antibiotics than hand cleaning. Ethanol, the active ingredient in Purell®, kills cells quickly and then evaporates. Since bacteria generally require prolonged exposure to an agent in order adapt and become resistant, the rapid killing effect and evaporation of ethanol means there is less chance for resistance to occur. Furthermore, even if microorganisms could become more tolerant of alcohols, this would not affect their susceptibility to antibiotics like penicillin.
