Hand Sanitizer VS Handwashing...what should you do?!

ermini2 Level 1

October 17, 2016, 8:33 pm

14

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I mentioned a little bit about hand santizer in a reply to another post. As a health care professional I know first hand how important hand washing can be to someones health. Im just going to give a little insight on both!

Sanitizing is great and does exactly what the bottle says it does BUT theres a catch....if you use hand sanitizer more than 3 times in a row without using any other cleanser in between, it does not work. the sanitizer will not sanitize.... (so for health care professionals who constantly sanitize in between patients more than washing their hands...please just wash your hands, everyone ends up safer) =]

Handwashing on the other hand is the #1 way to kill germs and prevent illnesses! The friction of your hands moving back and forth with the soap and water makes for a better germ killer!

Thanks for checking out my topics! Let me know what you guys think?!

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ermini2

ermini2

i understand the sticky creatures part and i have no idea how what or when it happens! LOL

thats great that you knew that because alot of people dont and think its such a good thing to santize at every chance they get because its not! it drys you out and eventually, yes, you're body becomes immune to the sanitizer and it doesnt work. just like antibiotic, eventually after awhile of constantly using it your body becomes immune to it!

10 years ago

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ermini2

ermini2

and yes because your body is immune to the sanitizer a little germ, that normally youre body would just fight off without you knowing, will make you sick.

10 years ago

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Lynne

Lynne

Oh yes I have heard that about antibiotics too. I only take them as a last resort and I try not to take any medication at all if possible. I do the same thing with my kids... and they are the healthiest kids in their class at playschool.

10 years ago

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ermini2

ermini2

i hear you. i only take medicine unless i absolutely need to and same with my children. they only go to the doctor for their checkups really!
let me not jinx it though

10 years ago

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CryptoGuru

CryptoGuru

This is awesome because since the rise of the popularity of hand sanitizer, the amount of people who wash their hands has gone down! People don't realize that its only for in between washing. I actually heard this from a nurse in the hospital that my second child was born in. She pulled me to the side and said she saw me use hand sanitizer a few times and that i needed to wash my hands. I was a little embarrassed but i was happy that she had my childs safety in mind. Thanks for sharing Ermini!

10 years ago

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ermini2

ermini2

i know, i saw it all the time at my old job..constantly just sanitizing and only washing their hands a few times. its sad to know that even some of these professionals dont know the rules!

10 years ago

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Utantendi

Utantendi

Every person in his life is obliged to monitor the hygiene and cleanliness of his hands. After all, the cleanliness of hands directly affects human health. But what temperature should the water be at when washing your hands? What is the best way to disinfect your hands? What works more effectively, disinfection or handwashing? Although there are many questions, they are straightforward to answer. Hand washing is not disinfection but only mechanical and chemical removal of dirt and germs. It is better to use Hypoallergenic Soap for problem skin than regular soap. The temperature of the water does not affect the effectiveness of handwashing in any way, but the temperature can affect the condition of your skin. Very cold or very hot water disrupts the skin's function, increasing the skin's sensitivity, and allergies appear. Therefore, it is recommended to wash your hands underwater at a comfortable temperature. The antibacterial agent reduces the number of bacteria on the skin. The effectiveness of both means is the same and does not decrease due to the number of uses.

5 years ago

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Lynne

Lynne

I wasn't actually aware of that fact that you shouldn't use hand sanitizer more than 3 times in a row. Thanks for sharing that.

I usually just wash my hands with soap and at the right times, after going to the toilet, before handling food (making meals) and before eating, as well as after eating.

Oh and also loads more times during the day. I have two small children and they are quite sticky creatures. I have no idea how they get so sticky but they do LOL.

I have also heard that with people getting so stuck on sanitizing things (and themselves) like crazy it often works in reverse making them ill. Since their bodies are so not used to touching a germ if they come into contact with one they get ill. Is that true? Or maybe I just got it half right LOL.

You are the healthcare professional so I am not sure, people hear about and read so many different things it is often hard to dig down to the truth isn't it?

10 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I use hand sanitizer when I cannot find water to wash my hands, I also use hand sanitizer when I am too lazy to go to the bathroom to wash my hands or want to kill germs on my hand quickly (without having to wash it thoroughly). Interestingly, I was not aware that if I use hand sanitizer three times in a row without washing my hand in between, it will not work. This is a new information for me. Thanks.

9 years ago

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Heatman6190

Heatman6190

I haven't really heard about the catch you narrated to be existent in using hand sanitizers 3 times in a row. This is my first time of hearing such and if it turns out to be true, then I would really say it's not safe relying on hand sanitizers alone.

Quite frankly, I would be going for combination of the two, wash and sanitize as well. I believe it to be more effective and efficient in rendering any germs useless and powerless if not kill them off and prevent it from causing one any harm.

9 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I think both can be good enough. And depending on context I'd be able to use it. For example the sanitizer is something we can use when there does not seem to be any water. And that would be more than good in many ways. You just have to understand that often germs may come in even with the sanitizer. As some of the time dirt needs to be washed with the hand-washed soap or so as well.

And another case is that hand sanitizer is often not enough. Make sure to make use of the handwasher if possible. As that;'s what is more safe for removing dirt based germs.

9 years ago

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Blank629

Blank629

For me, it is better to have handwash than hand sanitizer. Because when you wash your hands, you can clean almost all of your hands. We all know that we must clean our hands 100% because of the bacteria came from what we touch. So make sure to wash hands. You can also apply hand sanitizer after washing the hands.

9 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

My motto is use hand-sanitizer and then wash your hands with soap. That's what I always do. If I am not at home, then I wash my hands with warm water and follow that up with hand sanitizer in 'liquid' or 'wipe' format. I sometimes do volunteer work for a charitable clothing company so this is an issue for some of my co-workers. At times, the clothing donated by people is 'less than clean.' So we're always provided with plastic gloves to work with in case we run across an article of questionable apparel. After we're done, we wash our hands and then use Clorox Wipes to wipe down our fingers and palms.

9 years ago

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