How Effective Is Hand Sanitizer?
Coronavirus and flu-season in general has the world in a state of panic. Constant news updates and an over-saturation of illness related social media content is creating a lot of unnecessary worry, and the spreading of a lot of misinformation. As further developments continue to be made public, there is one fact that’s remained completely true; washing your hands and disinfecting commonly used surfaces is still the number one way to prevent the spreading of a virus/bacteria. However, many are also turning to hand sanitizer when out in public settings. Hand sanitization products aren’t as effective as actual hand-washing, but there’s still multiple benefits for those of us constantly on-the-go who find ourselves in multiple public settings throughout a given day. So what are the exact benefits of hand sanitizer and why isn’t it just as effective as hand-washing?
The most commonly known fact about hand sanitizer is that its key ingredient is alcohol; specifically propanol and isopropanol are the kinds of alcohols found in disinfectants. Alcohol is known for its ability to kill disease-causing agents on surfaces known as pathogens. Pathogens typically carry things like the common-cold or flu, and when exposed to alcohol, they break down into smaller proteins that aren’t harmful.
According to a study published in the journal of Clinical Microbiology Reviews, solutions with as little as 30% alcohol in them can kill certain pathogens. However, most hand sanitizer’s or disinfectants are made up of at least 60% alcohol, as it’s been proven that this percentage of certain propanol can kill a wider variety of bacteria and viruses. Hand sanitizer is also so effective because the bacteria that it targets can’t develop an immunity to it, so once it’s broken down, it will stay that way.
“But alcohol doesn’t work for all germs, such as norovirus. Hand sanitizers also don’t remove harmful chemicals like pesticides or heavy metals, nor does hand sanitizer work well on especially dirty or greasy hands. So, soap and water still win the contest overall. There are a few small-scale studies demonstrating that an alcohol-free hand sanitizer containing benzalkonium chloride is just as effective and even more effective than alcohol at getting rid of bacteria. However, hand sanitizer without alcohol may not kill as many germs and may only reduce the growth of germs rather than killing them outright,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
Research on hand sanitizer has also shown that it’s a “shelf-stable” chemical, meaning as long as it’s kept in a sealed container at room temperature, it won’t expire for a very long time. The FDA requires all of it’s regulated products to have an expiration date on it’s packaging, but that doesn’t mean that your hand sanitizer will just stop working once you reach that date, in fact, it will likely keep working effectively until you finish the bottle, assuming you use it frequently.
A common misconception about hand sanitizer is that it contains toxic qualities due to the high alcohol percentage, as well as its extensive ingredient list that the common individual likely won’t understand. According to the Hazardous Substances Database, however, all the alcohols that are put into hand sanitizer’s are considered to be completely safe when applied to the skin, and shouldn’t cause any sort of toxic reaction.
Alcohol in general when applied topically does have some dehydrating qualities to it, hence why some of us are more susceptible to breakouts of dry skin and irritation on our hands after using hand sanitizer. After some regular use, your skin should begin to develop a sort of “immune response” to the sanitizer, in the sense that it won’t be as sensitive to its drying qualities.
While hand sanitizer may be an efficient way at preventing the spread of certain bacteria’s and viruses, it’s not 100% effective. The CDC still recommends hand-washing as the best way to protect yourself from getting sick. When it comes to the coronavirus especially, don’t reach for the tubs of hand sanitizer next time you’re shopping, and instead pick up a refillable hand soap container and one of the larger bottles of liquid soap. While hand sanitizer may be easier, your body will thank you in the long run for remembering to keep up with good hygiene.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
