Proper Way to Use Hand Sanitizer

Good hygiene is important to your overall health, and proper hand washing is the best way to prevent infectious illnesses and avoid spreading them. Washing your hands is particularly important after being outdoors, or before preparing or eating a meal. There are times when hand washing with soap and water is impossible, so using a hand sanitizer is the next best thing that will help your efforts to stay healthy.

Function

• Alcohol-based hand sanitizers will kill most bacteria, fungi and viruses on your hands within seconds, according to livescience.com. Alcohol dissolves the cellular membranes of bacteria. Soap and warm water is the preferred method of hand washing, but if it is not done properly and for a full 20 to 30 seconds, it is not very effective. Most people do not take the time to wash their hands long enough. Hand sanitizers are quick and easy to use properly.

Technique

• Choose a good-quality hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Apply the sanitizer (in the size of about a quarter) to the palm of one hand. Rub the hand sanitizer into your hands, being careful to cover all sections, including the nail area, in-between the fingers and the backs of your hands. Rub the sanitizer in until it is fully absorbed.

Cautions

• Children sometimes like to play with sanitizers because they smell nice and disappear quickly. Advise them on the proper way to use them, and that they are not toys. Problems could result if they swallow or get the sanitizer in their eyes.