“Wash your hands!” said every mother to every kid, over and over again.
It turns out, mom is right. Washing your hands is essential for preventing the spread of viruses and other illnesses, as well as protecting yourself from getting sick. There’s no better time than now to listen to her.
According to the CDC, this is the worst flu season in about 15 years, with estimates of at least 33 million illnesses, 430,000 hospitalizations, and 19,000 deaths from flu as of February 15.
In addition to high flu levels, COVID-19, RSV, and the norovirus stomach bug are all at reportedly high levels across the country.
Soap or sanitizer?
Clean hands are crucial to prevention. And the most effective way to remove dirt and germs is by washing your hands with soap and water.
That’s because soap actually breaks down the germs. Rubbing your hands together with the soap helps remove germs from your skin, and rinsing your hands with water then washes the germs away. Soap and water are also effective for cleaning your hands of bacteria, chemicals, dirt and grease.
Make sure to thoroughly scrub your hands with a good lather, from fingertips to wrists, for at least 20 seconds, then rinse well.
If soap and water is not available, hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol can kill or reduce germs on your hands, but it is not as effective as soap and water. Some viruses have a hard outer layer that is resistant to the alcohol in hand sanitizer. The hand sanitizer can’t break through that outer layer to kill the virus.
For example, hand sanitizer is not effective against norovirus, the highly contagious stomach bug that usually causes diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain.
When using hand sanitizer, make sure to use a generous amount and rub it over all surfaces of your hands until your hands are dry.
When to use what
Here’s a handy chart that shows where hand sanitizer, used correctly, is and is not effective.
