Do hand sanitizers really kill 99.99% of germs? How can they prove that’s true?
In: Biology
I’m seeing a lot of incorrect information being put on here. Soap does not kill bacteria. Even antibacterial soap is not considered more effective than regular soap. It helps by washing them away and washing for 30 seconds is the standard in medicine, obviously more when scrubbing in for surgery. Hand sanitizers are considered the standard because they are considered as effective as a complete handwashing without the need to stand at a sink and then dry off. Yes it kills the vast majority of germs, but is ineffective against spores such as clostridium difficile which are ultra resistant.
Here’s a link to Harvard Med that provides a full breakdown.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/The_handiwork_of_good_health
Edit: please click the original link of the cease and desist letter. The problem is with the wordings used such as “kills more than 99.99%” and claims that it can “reduce student absenteeism by 51%”. Note that purell, lysol, etc all use the exact same “kills 99.9%” on their bottles and have not recieved complaints.
I also forgot something that may be of interest. We were told by sanitizer reps at one of my hospitals that we should wash our hands after every 3rd use of hand sanitizer. If you’re in healthcare or you just love using hand sanitizer, you’ll notice your hands will become almost tacky with a film over your hands after multiple uses.
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