Turns out hand sanitizer is actually useless especially during flu season

Turns out hand sanitizer is actually useless especially during flu season Turns out hand sanitizer is actually useless especially during flu season Washing my hands is a drag. It requires physical effort and accessories like towels. The trial is greater still when it comes to washing my children’s hands. And because my children are lazier  than I am  and far less concerned about proper hygiene, it’s so much easier to pump out some  hand sanitizer  into their little palms and call it a day. Unfortunately, washing your hands with soap and water is the single most effective way to prevent disease, especially during  flu season. Hand sanitizer, however, isn’t all that good at sanitizing hands- especially when it has alcohol content below 60%.“Many studies have found that sanitizers with an alcohol concentration between 60â€"95% are more effective at killing germs than those with a lower alcohol concentration or non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers,”  according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Although alcohol-based hand sanitizers can inactivate many types of microbes very effectively when used correctlyâ €¦ Soap and water are more effective than hand sanitizers.”Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders’ magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!Even if you manage to get your hands on some hospital-grade hand sanitizer, the high alcohol content isn’t enough to guarantee protection during flu season. Because most people do not use hand sanitizer appropriately. Studies have shown that hand sanitizers work best when applied to the entire hand, not just the palm. And they work best in clinical settings, where the hands are basically clean but may have come in contact with dangerous pathogens. Soiled hands, commonly associated  with kids or parenting, simply do not mix with hand sanitizer.“Hands may become very greasy or soiled in community settings, such as after people handle food, play sports, work in the garden, or go camping or fishing,” according to the CDC. “When hands are heavily soiled or greasy, hand sanitizer s may not work well.”Let’s say you manage to procure and apply 95 percent alcohol-based hand sanitizer to your otherwise clean hands. Even  then, it might not work. Hand sanitizer is less effective than hand washing when it comes to killing specific pathogens, such as  Clostridium difficile, and likely cannot remove or inactivate harmful chemicals. Indeed,  studies have shown  that people who exclusively use hand sanitizer, instead of soap and water, have higher levels of pesticides in their bodies.At the end of the day, hand sanitizer is a good way to protect yourself and your family from disease when you’re dealing with clean hands, or unable to get to the sink. But at home, with soiled hands, soap and water is the safest bet- thrashing children notwithstanding.This article originally appeared on Fatherly.You might also enjoy… New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy Strangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds 10 lessons from Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule that will double your productivity The worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs 10 habits of mentally strong people