Soap Vs Hand Sanitizer Coronavirus Eradication: Which Hygiene Measure You Should Choose?

Did you know to spare just 20 seconds of hand wash could keep it clean and bacteria-free? To avoid the spread of Covid-19, it is globally recommended by the dedicated healthcare professionals to make use of antibacterial soap with water to keep the infection at bay. But during recent times, public places now provide hand sanitizers as a substitute for washing hands with soap and there is always a debate on antibacterial soap vs hand sanitizers about what is better!

In this article, we will give you some instincts regarding soap vs hand sanitizers to let you choose what suits them best.

Hydration With Soap Stands Out To Be The Best Way To Remove Bacteria

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends maintaining hand hygiene can be achievable with thoroughly washing them. Washing your hands with soap and water removes all the harmful germs and bacteria and also helps in removing unwanted pathogens such as norovirus, Giardia, and C. difficile. Thus it is the best hygiene method as it not only gets rid of germs, also helps in eliminating any dirt, debris, and grime from your hands.

The friction and lathering done in the process of hand washing is something that reduces and eliminates these germs making them rinsed away easily and drowned in the drain.

Hand Sanitizers As The Apt Substitute For Soaps

Hand Sanitizers are alcohol-based soap and water substitutes. Hand sanitizer formulation done with at least 60 percent alcohol is an effective way to clean your hands. They start working with 15 seconds of the application takes less time than soaps. That is why healthcare organizations such as hospitals and nurseries as well as public buildings such as corporate offices keep the packs of hand sanitizer hands for instant application and also for cleaning hands before treating a patient with a pump.

It happens sometimes that soap and water are not immediately available thus 60 percent of alcohol composition hand sanitizers turn out to the best alternative. FDA recommends customers look for up to 95 percent ethanol or isopropanol which is safe for hands.

A Comprehensive Comparison Between Soap and Hand Sanitizers

Hand sanitizers can be capable of killing viruses and certain bacteria, but it does not clean your hands the way soap and water do. It doesn’t remove actual dirt and debris found to be at the hand corners. On the contrary, soap kills germs and can physically remove them with the application of water.

Hand sanitizer composition comprises alcohol as a minimum of 60 percent is necessary to kill the harmful bacteria which can be harmful to the skin and can pose other health threats. Some people can be sensitive to alcohol on their skin if you are also one of those, its always better to opt for soap Also, they may not be able to kill norovirus, Giardia, or the diarrhea-causing bacterium Clostridium Difficile.

Hence, although several homes and businesses keep large pump bottles of hand sanitizers readily available, it's best to think of hand sanitizer as a portable alternative when a sink and soap aren't accessible.

Make A Wise Choice

A Sanitizer or soap both clean your hands but they have different ways to do so. While a sanitizer is incredibly convenient it may not kill common germs and harmful bacteria, such as salmonella and staphylococcus. They also aren’t recommended for hands that are visibly dirty or greasy that can be cleaned only with an application of soap with water.

Importance Of Hand Hygiene In Everyday Life

Proper hand hygiene maintained every day can prevent sickness, even death stopping germs to enter the system. The CDC has estimated that one in 25 patients in the US becomes prone to infections while in hospitals. While Healthcare-Associated Infections, or HAIs, say approximately 75,000 patients with HAIs die each year. 

Hand hygiene becomes critical because 20-40 percent of HAIs are transmitted by the hands of healthcare personnel. Patients are infected by coming in contact with bed rails and toilet seats. Touching any surface in a patient’s hospital room can be transmitted onto the hands of HCP and may spread disease-causing organisms widely.


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