Dr vikas sharma
Instant hand sanitizers are the antiseptic gels and foams that have become popular as a quick way to disinfect hands when soap and water aren’t available. They are quick, portable and convenient. Hand sanitizer comes in gel, foam and liquid formulations. It sounds pretty simple as an alternative to washing your hands with soap and water. However, one needs to look carefully at the label before buying any of these products.
Check the bottle for active ingredients. It might say ethyl alcohol, ethanol, isopropanol or some other chemical, and those are all fine. But make sure that whichever of those alcohols is listed, its concentration is between 60- 95 per cent. An alcohol concentration under 60 per cent won’t kill microbes. It’s really frightening to think that there are products that contain levels lower than the required 60 per cent and sometimes much lower.
Washing with plain old soap and water should be your first choice. But if you’re stuck between meetings and about to grab lunch at your desk, or just use somebody else’s keyboard or a handshake, using a hand sanitizer before and after could be a really good idea.
How much is good enough
Side effects
If you are a cleanliness-obsessed germo-phobe, who has made a habit of frequently using hand sanitizer like lotion, you will want to know the dangers as well.
(Dr Sharma is a Chandigarh-based dermatologist)
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