Keeping your hands clean stops the transmission of numerous dangerous diseases. You can wash your hands with water and soap or you can sanitize them using hand sanitizers.
What’s hand sanitizer? A hand sanitizer is a gel, foam, and liquid solution which acts as an substitute to hand washing with soap and water. You will find two types of hand sanitizers, alcohol based hand sanitizers and non-alcohol hand sanitizers.
Alcohol based hand sanitizers use alcohol to kill most bacteria, fungi and several viruses. The amount of alcohol in these sanitizers varies between 60% and 85%. Common hand sanitizers found in the market contain 62% of alcohol. The most common brands of alcohol based hand sanitizers include Purell sanitizers, Avant, Sterillium, Desderman and Allsept S.
Some hand sanitizers are manufactured with extra ingredients such as natural products and essential oils. These hand sanitizers don’t just contain alcohol that is necessary to kill germs effectively and safely, but they also contain additional components that could moisturize and condition the skin. Hospitals use sanitizer dispensers equipped with elbow controlled mechanism to avoid any contact with the pump.
Non-alcohol based hand sanitizers use small amount of benzalkonium chloride or triclosan to kill gems.
For the reason that they do not contain alcohol, which is a preservative, the non-alcohol based hand sanitizers may become contaminated.
How to Use Hand Sanitizer
Everyone knows that hand sanitizers could kill most gems. How do we use it properly and when should we use it?
Below is the correct way to use hand sanitizer:
- Apply enough sanitizer gel to the palm of one hand.
- Rub the solution over all surfaces of your hands and fingers for few seconds until your hands are dry.
- If your hands are visibly dirty, you should wash them with soap and water.
- When to sanitize your hands? It would be a good idea to sanitizer your hands:
- before and after preparing food.
- before meals.
- before and after treating wounds.
- before inserting or removing contact lenses.
- after touching an animal.
- after coughing or sneezing into your hands.
Benefits of Hand Sanitizers
Most people think that the alcohol based hand sanitizers could make your skin dry. Well it is true. However, it dries skin less than hand washing with soap and water.
Hand sanitizers kill many bacteria such as antibiotic resistant bacteria and TB bacteria. They also kill viruses such as flu virus, the common cold virus, and HIV.
Hand sanitizers also kill fungi.
The Risk
Alcohol is flammable. Alcohol based hand sanitizers can catch fire of it. However, some hand sanitizers with high concentration of water or moisturizing content may not produce this effect. Rubbing your hands until dry could minimize the risk of fire. This is because it only takes few second for the flammable alcohol in hand sanitizers to evaporate into the air. Your hands are dry means that the alcohol is gone.
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