Soap and water still tops for hand washing

The old soap and water method of keeping the germs away is at least as good as any modern anti-bacterial products, according to the Harvard Health Letter.

US studies showed that washing hands with soap and water for 15 seconds reduced bacterial counts by about 90%. But even people who are conscientious about washing their hands often make the mistake of not drying them properly. Wet hands were found to be more likely to spread germs than dry ones.

Today, almost half of the hand soaps on the market have an antibacterial additive. The big question has been whether use of antibacterial soaps will worsen the problem of antibiotic resistance.
The new products in hand hygiene are alcohol-based rubs, sold as hand sanitizers. The big advantage of these cleansers is that users don’t need water or a towel, so they can be used anywhere.

However, alcohol doesn’t kill everything and that is why it shouldn’t be the only cleaner available in health care and other sanitary settings. To be effective the Harvard Health Letter states that the rubs need to come into contact with all surfaces of the hands, and the studies have shown that using small amounts is really no better than washing with plain soap and water.