Which is More Effective – Washing Hands Vs Hand Sanitizer?
Many people consider rubbing their hands with Purell or an equivalent hand sanitizer the same as washing their hands. But is this actually true, or are all of us germ-phobic people actually letting our hands stay dirty? Hand sanitizers are composed mainly of ethanol, an alcohol that is commonly used to clean off lab benches and keep things sterile while delicate experiments are being conducted. It is this high alcohol content that ensures that 99.9% of the common disease-causing bacteria on your hands is killed. The hands are an important part to keep clean because they regularly come into contact with most of the known portals for disease on your body: this includes the mouth, nose and conjunctiva (or corners) of your eyes. The Centers for Disease Control recommend that you regularly wash your hands with soap and water, but when you are on the go and those things are unavailable, look to hand sanitizers as the next best thing. Soap and water removes dirt as well as kills germs, wherea
