Why Does Hand Washing Beat Hand Sanitizer Hands Down?

Washing your hands is way more effective than hand sanitizer at getting rid of germs because soap is scientifically amazing stuff. Learn why -- and how to use both -- in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here. This episode is part of
the miniseries we're doing on some health and safety topics
surrounding the novel type of coronavirus identified in which causes
what is therefore being called COVID nineteen. Because everything is

(00:22):
a little less scary when you understand it better. So
you're probably aware that with the novel coronavirus outbreak, hand
sanitizer has gotten very hard to find. However, soap seems
to still be in good supply. This is a little
counterintuitive given that to keep yourself safe from this virus,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends hand washing

(00:45):
first and using hand sanitizer only as a backup if
you don't have access to running water. We spoke with
Dr Greg Poland, a representative for the Infectious Diseases Society
of America and professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at
the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He said proper hand
washing is the safest, most efficacious, least expensive, and readily

(01:08):
available method to prevent disease. So why would plain old
soap and water be more effective against germs than an
alcohol based hand sanitizer. Poland explained, when you're physically washing
your hands, you're doing three things. You're removing visible dirt
and mucus, you're using a soap that decreases surface tension,

(01:29):
and your physically by friction loosening, removing and washing away
whatever is on your hand. This includes germs that you
can't see, and is perhaps particularly effective at stopping the
spread of some germs like coronavirus. Is because the outer
casing of these germs is made up of lipids, which
are fats. Just as soap can wedge itself down between

(01:52):
particles of grease on a dirty pan and help break
it up, molecules of soap can elbow into that lipid
envelope around a microbe and break it apart, thus rendering
the microbe unable to attack and infect cells. Studies have
shown that soap and water is more effective than hand
sanitizer at removing certain viruses in bacteria that attack the

(02:13):
intestines and respiratory tract. Coronavirus is included, and hand washing
is especially effective for very dirty hands, such as those
you get from gardening, playing sports, or wiping the running
nose with the back of your hand. Poland said, if
your hands are visibly soiled, hand sanitizer can't get to
all the skin surfaces, and if your hands have mucus

(02:35):
on them, hand sanitizer cannot penetrate. Remember, if you have
the flu for example, influenza viruses will be present in
your mucus. Several studies have shown that hand washing got
rid of the flu virus from hands much faster than
hand sanitizer diad. Okay, so we've gone over why hand
washing trump's hand sanitizing. But in order for hand washing

(02:58):
to work, you have to do it properly. You've probably
seen a billion memes this week about how to do it,
but let's review the steps for everyone's sake. There are
a whole bunch of times that people should be washing
their hands, but probably the most important are before you
prepare or eat food, after using the bathroom, and before
you touch your face. Here's the protocol according to the CDC. First,

(03:23):
wet hands with clean running water. Warm more cold will do.
Then turn off the tap and apply soap. Lather your
hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Any soap
will work. It doesn't have to be antibacterial, and remember
antibacterial soap won't help keep you safer from viruses than
regular soap because they're different credits. As you lather in rub,

(03:44):
make sure to get all the parts of your hands
the backs, palms, between the fingers and under finger nails.
Start at your fingertips and work backward. Rub your hands
for at least twenty seconds. You can hum or sing
Happy Birthday twice or some other ditty if counting doesn't
do it for you. The five seconds that most people
take to wash their hands doesn't get as many microbes off. Afterwards,

(04:07):
rinse your hands well under running water and dry them
using a clean towel or with an air dryer. If
you're in a public restroom, it helps to use a
paper towel to turn the faucet off and to open
the bathroom door. A lot of publicity has gone into
educating people that they're not washing for long enough, but
many are also missing the mark by not thoroughly rubbing

(04:27):
all parts of the hand. Poland said, think of how
we transfer viruses, bacteria, et cetera into our body. It's
with the area of the hand that nobody washes properly.
That is the fingertips. People wash the palm, they wash
the back of their hand, They wash the bottom third
of the fingers. But have you ever seen someone wash
fingernails or tips? So the next time you're washing up,

(04:50):
make a point to pay extra attention to these often
neglected appendages. There will be times, though, when hand sanitizer
just makes more sense than hand washing. Let's say you
were in the bathroom at your office. Followed all the
steps we outlined above, so now you have perfectly clean hands.
But wait, you need to open the door that leads
from the hallway where the bathroom is back to your office.

(05:13):
Dozens of people are opening and closing that door all day.
Applying a dollop of hand sanitizer might be easier than
washing your hands again, so here's the correct way to
do that. First, make sure you're applying enough. About a
quarter to a half dollar sized amount of hand sanitizer
is necessary. Rub it over all the parts of your hand,
starting from the finger tips and working your way back

(05:35):
to disinfect, and don't forget in between your fingers. Poland
said keep doing that until it's dry. That way, you
know you've had enough exposure time for that disinfectant to kill.
Resist the urge to wipe your hands on a paper
towel or your pants to speed up the drying process.
Since hand sanitizer and washing can be very drying, you

(05:57):
might want to keep some hand lotion or cream or
by to apply once your hands are dry. And just
one more thing. Dr Poland has fielded questions from people
who asked about using disinfecting wipes like those made by
Chlorox or lysol on their skin as an added layer
of protection. He strongly advises people against this quote. Do

(06:20):
not wipe your face with chlorox wipes, do not clean
your nose with it, and do not suck on it.
It does not help, it will harm you, and it hurts.
It offers no benefit. Today's episode was written by Ali A.
Hoyt and produced by Tyler Klang. For more on this
and lots of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.

(06:42):
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