Viruses, bacteria, and disease-causing germs and pathogens surround us all the time, every day, wherever we live. Now, more than ever, it’s vitally important for you and your family to remain as safe as possible.
One of the easiest and fastest ways a person can become infected by germs or diseases is through unwashed, unsanitized hands.
Even with the face covered and by keeping a safe distance from other people, there comes a moment when we’re all likely going to touch something. Be it a surface, items, or objects we come across, our hands touch something constantly. This causes us to pick up different germs and bacteria throughout the day, potentially exposing us to all sorts of harmful infections and diseases.
The best way to prevent this is to wash our hands regularly and constantly with soap and water. However, that’s not always easy. So what’s the next best option? Well, in this case, the next best solution is to use an antibacterial hand gel.
In hospitals and other healthcare environments, staff and visitors are actively reminded to use hand sanitiser to clean when hands are not visibly soiled.
Active Ingredients
The majority of reputable hand sanitisers on the market contain either ethanol or isopropanol as their active ingredient. These forms of alcohol kill most germs immediately upon contact without harming your hands. This is actually a big benefit over soap and water, in which case you’d have to ideally use the water as hot as possible to kill most germs, which can potentially burn your skin.
Both Ethanol and Isopropanol contain an antiseptic that, when exposed to germs or bacteria, dissolves their essential protein makeup. This process disrupts their normal cellular activity, causing the germs to die almost instantly.
Inactive Ingredients
Most hand sanitisers have several other inactive ingredients that make the application easier and more pleasant and add benefits to the skin.
Ingredients, such as glycerin, act as great moisturizing agents, allowing the skin to feel smoother than when hands are covered in rubbing alcohol.
Another ingredient, polyacrylic acid, is also found in plenty of hand sanitisers. It produces the gel-like texture these products are generally known for. This gelled appearance helps spread the alcohol around the hands more effectively than simply pouring water on them.
Effectiveness
Most scientists agree that a hand sanitiser should contain at least 60 per cent alcohol (either ethanol or isopropanol) to effectively kill any bacteria or germs found on hands, arms, or other physical surfaces.
These alcohols are effective against nearly all types of bacteria, including the Streptococcus bacteria and the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB).
Hand sanitisers are also highly effective against most fungal infections and enveloped viruses, such as the common cold and flu viruses.
Conclusion
Overall, the best option to keep your hands clean is always to use hot water and soap. This is followed by reducing touching your face, nose, mouth, eyes, and other surfaces as much as possible.
Day-to-day life shows us that this isn’t always realistic or practical. (In the past 10 minutes, I’ve touched my face and arm over 22 times.) Hand sanitisers resolve this issue quickly, easily, and efficiently, allowing you to go back to living your life confident in knowing you’re being as safe as possible.
