Hand sanitizer

Hand sanitizer is an antiseptic substance designed to kill the bacteria on one's hands. Isopropyl alcohol is the most common active ingredient. Hand sanitizer is usually over 60% alcohol, since this is considered the effective threshold; 62% seems to be the most common concentration used among companies. There are also non-alcoholic hand sanitizing substances such as triclosan or benzalkonium chloride, but such products are less common due largely to the potential health risks of such chemicals. Some research has concluded that hand sanitizing is more effective against fighting bacteria than hand washing, but the CDC maintains that hand washing is generally more effective for the avoidance of illness.

Proper Use

Viruses are not actually killed by hand sanitizer, since they are nonliving pathogens. However, they can be destroyed by friction. For this reason, people are always directed to rub their hands together with the hand sanitizer, so as to eliminate or at least reduce functional viruses. Almost all bacteria are killed by alcohol (the main exception being those which are covered by endospores) but this takes time. If bacteria is exposed to alcohol for only a few seconds, not all will die. For this reason, people are also directed to rub with these products for at least thirty seconds. Unfortunately, alcohol evaporates quickly, so one must make sure to use a sufficient quantity for it to take at least this long to dry. It is also important to keep in mind that since alcohol dries quickly, remaining moisture on the hands may not contain enough alcohol to be helpful. Do not try to speed up the drying process by waving hands in the air or fanning them.