benefits of hand-washing over hand sanitizing

We are going to tell you the benefits of hand-washing over hand sanitizing in this article. If you follow the news (or go to the grocery store in the US), you may know that with the outbreak of the Coronavirus, hand sanitizer has become hard to come by. However, soap always looks good. Still, to protect yourself from the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends washing your hands first — and using hand sanitizer only as a backup if you don’t have one. you can wash your hands.

“Proper hand washing is the safest, most effective, most cost-effective, and easiest way to prevent disease,”

said Dr. Greg Poland, representative of the Infection Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and professor of medicine and infectious diseases at Mayo says.

So why is regular soap and water more effective against germs than alcohol-based hand sanitizers?

“When you wash your hands, you’re doing three things,” says Poland.

“You remove the dirt from the visible nose, you use soap that reduces friction on the surface, and you are in the body, by friction, loosening, removing, and washing everything in the your hand.”

That will include viruses that you can’t see.

The CDC explains that studies have shown soap and water to be more effective than hand sanitizer at killing certain bacteria such as Cryptosporidium, norovirus, and Clostridium difficile, all of which cause diarrhea.

And hand washing is especially effective for heavily soiled hands, like those you get from gardening, playing sports, or wiping a runny nose with the back of your hand.

“If your hands are dirty enough, hand sanitizer can’t reach all the skin,” says Poland.

“And if your hands have nose on them, the hand sanitizer can’t go in.”

Remember that if you have the flu, the flu virus is in the nose.

How to wash your hands properly

Okay, so we’ve spent time explaining why hand washing is good for hygiene, but for hand washing to work, you have to do it right. “Everyone thinks they know how to do it [washing their hands], nobody knows and nobody knows how to do it properly,” Poland says. So let’s go step by step for everything.

There are many times people should wash their hands, but the most important are before eating/preparing food, when using the bathroom, and before touching your face.

Here is how to wash hands according to the CDC:

• Hand wash with clean tap water. Hot or cold water will do.
• Then turn off the faucet and add soap.
• Clean your hands by rubbing them with soap. Any soap works – it doesn’t have to be antibacterial.
• Make sure to reach all parts of your hand – back, palm, between fingers and under nails. Start with the fingers and work backwards.
• Hold your hands together for at least 20 seconds (hum or sing “Happy Birthday” or another song twice if counting doesn’t do it for you).
• The five seconds it takes most people to wash their hands doesn’t kill many germs.
• Wash hands thoroughly under running water.
• Dry your hands with a clean towel or air dry them.
• Turn off the faucet with a paper towel and be sure to open the bathroom door with a towel.

A lot of advertising has gone into teaching people not to shower for too long. But many people also miss the mark by not washing all parts of the hand properly. “Think about how we transmit viruses, bacteria, etc. in our body. It is the part of the hand that no one washes well, that is, the fingers,” said Dr. Poland says.

“[People] wash their palms, wash the backs of their hands, wash the bottom three parts of their fingers. But have you ever seen someone wash their fingernails or toenails?”

So, the next time you make a dish, be sure to pay special attention to these often overlooked additives, okay?

How to use hand sanitizer properly

There will be times when hand sanitizer makes more sense than hand washing.

Let’s say you are in the bathroom of your office, you followed all the steps we described above, so now you have perfectly clean hands, but wait, you need to open the door leading from hallway (bathroom area).

Many people open and close this door all day, so it is dirty.

Although applying a dollop of hand sanitizer may be easier to do than washing your hands, many people still fail at this process.

• Make sure to apply correctly. According to Poland, about a quarter and a half dollar worth of hand sanitizer is needed. The solution must contain at least 60% alcohol.
• Apply it all over your hands, starting with your fingers and working your way up (don’t forget between your fingers). “Do it until it’s dry,” he says. “That way, you know you’ve had enough time for the antibiotic to kill.”
• Resist the urge to wipe your hands on a paper towel or on your pants to speed up the drying process.
• Since hand sanitizer can be very drying, keep a lotion or cream nearby to apply as soon as your hands are dry.

last word

Hand-washing or hand sanitizing depends on which is the most convenient. It also depends on your location. However, there are more benefits of hand-washing over hand sanitizing. The primary benefit being, hand-washing kills flu viruses faster than using a hand sanitizer. Especially running water, which is highly recommended. This does not mean you can not use a hand sanitizer in your car or office. What it means is that you should be more deliberate about hand-washing whenever it opportunity avails.