Killing germs and microbes

You might wonder – is alcohol effective against bacteria? Alcohol attacks and destroys envelope protein which surrounds some of the pathogens. In order to effectively destroy microbes, hand sanitising solution needs to contain at least 60-65% of alcohol inside.

What if you use non-alcohol hand sanitizer? It has been proven that alcohol antibacterial hand sanitisers that contain less than 60% of alcohol inside are significantly less effective in killing microbes and fungi. In most of the cases those sanitisers only slow down the growth of the dangerous germs instead of killing them.

Is 60% alcohol sanitizer effective? Studies have shown that even hand sanitising solutions that contain the minimum 60% are not fully effective. In those cases when the product has 60% of alcohol inside the user needs to regularly wash hands with warm water and soap. Otherwise it is important to choose products with higher alcohol concentration.

Internet is full of resellers offering to buy hand sanitisers. However, with shortages of hand sanitisers in the market some people try and make home-made hand sanitising solutions. It is important to understand that home-made sanitiser might not be as effective as commercial products. Home-made hand sanitisers might also have negative effects on your body (for ex. Leaving the hands dry) as those products have not been tested.

Many people wonder – how to clean hands? It is important to make sure that you clean your hands thoroughly (including between your knuckles, wrists, palms, back of your hand and your fingernails) as the studies have shown that friction formed between hands has a positive effect in reducing the number of germs as well as the dirt and other organic materials.