Health

Hand Sanitizer or Hand Washing? Which is Better Against Swine Flu

by Scott Wu | October 27, 2009 at 02:24 pm

3189 views | 33 Recommendations | 7 comments

Hand sanitizer have become more widely available in public spaces, but how does it compare to hand washing with water and soap?

According to Christopher Wanjek of LiveScience, alcohol-based hand sanitizer is the most practical way to prevent the spread seasonal flu, H1N1 swine flu, colds, and other viral and bacterial-based diseases.

Public health experts agree that a good hand wash is consider the best way to remove germ and dirt. That requires washing with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds to reach all crevices on your hands. Unfortunately, this is rarely put into practice.

In comparison, alcohol-based hand sanitizers kill bacteria, viruses and fungi much faster, even if it is use for less than 15 seconds as recommended.

Which comes down to this: good hand washing is better than good sanitizer use, but bad sanitizer use is better than bad hand washing.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers cannot replace thorough hand washing, but it is more effective for outdoor use. Hand sanitizers kill bacteria but do not clean your hands.

That is, it does not remove dirt, which includes organic material such as blood or feces. Soap and water must be the first choice in restrooms.

Also, there are a few key germs that alcohol doesn't kill well, such as the norovirus or E. coli, which is why soap and water is best during cooking, too.

Anti-bacterial soap is considered worse than regular soap because bacteria on your hand may develop resistance.

Anti-bacterial soap, ironically, is largely considered the worse thing you can use to kill germs. This is because antibacterial agents kill many but not all bacteria and then linger on the skin to enable the remaining bad bacteria to develop a resistance.

Not all hand sanitizers are equal. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers should contain at least 60% alcohol to be effective, anything below that can actually facilitate the spread of germs.

According to the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health website, in order for sanitizer to be effective, it must have an alcohol content of at least 60 to 90 per cent. Anything below this level could actually facilitate the spread of germs, rather than kill them.

It is also important that hand sanitizer overuse can cause dry skin, and possibly bacterial resistance, the same way antibacterial soap does. Thus using the same brand for over a month can cause it to become less effective.

The advantage hand sanitizer has over hand washing is portability, but it should never replace good hand washing.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Yuliya Talmazan

at 14:32 on October 27th, 2009

The fact that the hand sanitizer is causing dry skin is also interesting. Dry skin can lead to cracks in skin through which bacteria and some viruses can penetrate. And, although flu virus needs to lend on a mucous membrane to infect, other germs can get in and colonize via skins cracks.

a211423

at 14:38 on October 27th, 2009

yuls

You bring up a good point.

I agree with the basic premise of the article that hand washing with soap and water is the best, but hand sanitizers can be used in other ways besides using on hands when one cannot get to a sink. Wiping surfaces with alcohol base sanitizer like on gym equipment and telephones and other areas where one comes into contact with germs in public is a good application of the sanitizers.

Amy Judd

at 17:36 on October 27th, 2009

We should be careful of computer keyboards too - they can be a haven for germs

A. Tran

at 18:30 on October 27th, 2009

Good post and I still think a good hand washing is better.

The concern is that some people have relied on hand sanitizers instead of washing their hands.

Amy has a valid point about germ infested computer keyboards.

miss piggy (not verified)

at 20:14 on October 27th, 2009

Washing your hands is best. Especially before eating. But what do you do if the coffee lady at the coffee shop who is handling dirty money, pours you a coffee, then uses her whole hand to press down the lid. Next, you sip out of the lid. While the probability is low, this happens hundreds of thousands a time each day - so it could be likely that the guy in front of you in line or drive thru - just sneezed, then pulled out his money to pay. You're next in line, and the coffee lady just put all that H1N1 virus all over your coffee cup and lid. Get the vaccine, but the coffee shops are still spreading germs, cold virus and who knows what else. Why wash your hands if you're going to lick someone else's dirty hands via your coffee cup. Enjoy. Now you know the rest of the story. West coast - drink lots of coffee in paper cups. Europeans drink coffee in glass /china cups - analyze the outbreak maps.

Vinniecat (not verified)

at 11:01 on November 22nd, 2009

The claim about changing brands of sanitizer every month makes no sense to me. If the active ingredient, alcohol, is the same for all, changing brands would not make any difference.