Tips for Use Hand Sanitizer

The whole purpose hand sanitizing is to keep one safe from infection and safeguard one’s well-being. But to actually do so you need to be mindful of a number of connected factors and even your Hand Sanitizer Manufacturer in India may not have adequately pointed out what you need to be aware of. To begin with, most people while applying a hand sanitizer do not keep in mind the principles involved, and so make it ineffective.

Washing with Soap and Water OR Applying an Ethanol based Hand Sanitizer

Both are effective ways of cleansing hands that may have picked up Covid-19 Virus particles. Ethanol destroys the Virus by destroying its lipid sheath the moment it comes into contact with it, but needs some time to penetrate fully.

In fact Ethanol is a most powerful virucidal for a whole range of viruses. Pure ethanol unfortunately evaporates very quickly.  

Soap has a slightly different action in killing microbes but while it may not be as powerful in the case of Covid-19, the combination of soap and water means that it simultaneously washes the microbes away.

A hand sanitizer with 80% Ethanol is ideal and should be used as follows:

·         Pour a ten rupee coin sized amount onto the palm of one hand

·         Rub both hands thoroughly together; palms, back of hand, between fingers and into the nails 

·         Keep rubbing over all the surfaces of your hands and fingers until your hands are dry. This should take around 20 seconds.

It should also be noted that hand sanitizers lose their effectiveness when hands are dirty or greasy. Dirt and grease act as barriers for ethanol which will evaporate away before it can fully attack the microbes. In such cases, you must first wash the hands with soap and water.

That apart: both are great defenses against infection and should be used in tandem.