Is Using Sanitizers Better Than Hand Washing?

So here's the thing, no matter 'aapka sabun kitna bhi slow hain', washing hands has always been a part and parcel of growing up! And why wouldn't it be? Considering that 80% of all infectious diseases are transmitted simply through physical contact, it is only natural that our mothers were so persistent about hand washing. But, how effective is hand washing at disease prevention? Does it actually kill all germs? So, while the entire world is focused upon observing Hand Washing Day, we, at TheHealthOrange, decided to compare the effectiveness of hand washing with that of using sanitizers. And guess what? The results are not what we expected!

Efficacy Of Hand Washing

Studies have shown that washing your hands with soap is indeed more effective than any other means of cleanliness. However, it has also been pointed out that hand washing with soaps (antibacterial or otherwise) can only remove germs, but not actually kill them. So contrary to the popular belief, the process of rinsing your hands with soap will not get rid of all germs. This holds true even for antibacterial soaps, although they are way more effective than cosmetic soaps at eliminating contaminants.

Efficacy Of Hand Sanitizers

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention have highlighted through their studies that sanitizers are the most effective alternative to hand washing,



especially when there is no water and soap available. The main advantage of using hand sanitizers is that they not only remove disease-causing microorganisms from our hands, but actually kill them too, thereby ensuring their complete elimination. For this reason, the use of sanitizers is highly recommended in hospital-like settings.

Of course, there are limitations with sanitizers too. While sanitizers are equally capable of getting rid of germs, they don't remove soil from the hand like soaps do. Again, these alcohol-based sanitizers often fail to knock out the spread of a number of viruses like the novovirus, which can cause food poisoning and viral gastroenteritis.

The answer to the question posed by us at the outset was in the context of hand washing vs sanitizers for hygiene and germ protection. Based on what we learned, the efficacy of either method would depend on a number of factors:

1. The availability of water and soap being the first.

2. The kind of settings also influences the medium of cleaning. For instance, use of sanitizers is a must in any diagnostic clinic. However, for those involved in the food industry for example, washing hands with soaps is highly recommended because of the presence of fatty ingredients and particulate matter that makes it difficult for antibacterial sanitizers to kill germs effectively.