Punkdoc, I have heard a few times now that soap and water is more efficacious than sanitising hand gel. Why is that? I would have thought that the alcohol and other antibacterial ingredients in the gel would fight the germs better than simple soap. Is that not so? Is it perhaps because people wash with soap and water more vigorously and for a longer period?
They said something on the news about it yesterday - Punkdoc can probably give a more technical answer but it went along the lines of a virus needing an oily 'coating' for it to be able to get into your system, so a simple detergent which can break down the oil being very effective. It's a virus, not a bacteria, so anti-bacterial properties aren't useful. The alcohol content, if it's high enough, can work in hand sanitisers. But soap is cheaper and much more plentiful, just a bit less portable when you're out and about
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
My understanding about hand washing is: 1. Washing gets rid of dirt, grease and microbes physically as they are rinsed away. 2. It’s important to do a thorough wash however - think nail beds and under rings. 3. Drying is important as a it also helps remove debris and moisture. 4. Gel is good at killing most (but not all) viruses but it has to be applied all over and air dried. 5. Don’t re-contaminate hands by then turning off a dirty tap.
We had training to wash our hands using a stain, invisible to the naked eye, and then viewing our washed hands under UV light. This showed the areas that we had missed with standard washing, so it helped us understand that all fingers, thumb, between fingers, Palm, backs and nails needed a lather, friction and rinse.
Bill Bryson describes a virus with his characteristic clarity ...." A virus is a strange and unlovely entity....a piece of nucleic acid surrounded by bad news" .
He also depicts the immense damage a virus can cause ; "Smallpox in the twentieth century alone killed an estimated three-hundred million people" .
I don't know , you can't beat a bit of light reading at night !
There have been several studies that show that soap / water is better than hand gel, although I have to say I don't know why. It is certainly what I use, I see no point in gel.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
Soap is made from about the last product left over from oil, when you wash your hands with soap, it leaves an oil residue on your skin which viruses can’t attach themselves too.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Its handy to have the gel sanitiser in the car,we always use it after handling supermarket trollies,or at petrol pumps etc. Weve carried it in the car since living in France,when more often than not there were no facilities for washing hands in public,very old fashioned toilets.
The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
The summary of it is that soap and water is better at removing certain germs like norovirus or c. diff. Soap and water is also better if your hands are particularly dirty or sweaty perhaps after gardening or playing sport. With reasonably clean hands gel is as effective as soap, apart from the important point about norovirus, but gel only works effectively if it is alcohol based, you use plenty of it and allow your hands to air dry.
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They said something on the news about it yesterday - Punkdoc can probably give a more technical answer but it went along the lines of a virus needing an oily 'coating' for it to be able to get into your system, so a simple detergent which can break down the oil being very effective. It's a virus, not a bacteria, so anti-bacterial properties aren't useful. The alcohol content, if it's high enough, can work in hand sanitisers. But soap is cheaper and much more plentiful, just a bit less portable when you're out and about
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
1. Washing gets rid of dirt, grease and microbes physically as they are rinsed away.
2. It’s important to do a thorough wash however - think nail beds and under rings.
3. Drying is important as a it also helps remove debris and moisture.
4. Gel is good at killing most (but not all) viruses but it has to be applied all over and air dried.
5. Don’t re-contaminate hands by then turning off a dirty tap.
We had training to wash our hands using a stain, invisible to the naked eye, and then viewing our washed hands under UV light. This showed the areas that we had missed with standard washing, so it helped us understand that all fingers, thumb, between fingers, Palm, backs and nails needed a lather, friction and rinse.
It is certainly what I use, I see no point in gel.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sanitizer.html
The summary of it is that soap and water is better at removing certain germs like norovirus or c. diff. Soap and water is also better if your hands are particularly dirty or sweaty perhaps after gardening or playing sport. With reasonably clean hands gel is as effective as soap, apart from the important point about norovirus, but gel only works effectively if it is alcohol based, you use plenty of it and allow your hands to air dry.