This process breaks down proteins present in germ cells, changing their shape and rendering them useless. The World Health Organisation were quick to put together guidance on the use of alcohol-based hand rubs and even designed a formulation for companies to make this themselves during worldwide shortages of the product.Īlcohol kills pathogens through a process called denaturisation. The product was sold out everywhere, google searches for hand sanitiser had rocketed and those on the frontline were left with very little in terms of hand hygiene. Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitisersĭemand for alcohol-based hand sanitisers grew significantly in early 2020 when the first cases of COVID-19 began to emerge in the UK and the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global pandemic. What is the difference between alcohol and alcohol-free hand sanitisers?Īpart from the obvious answer (one contains alcohol, one does not) there are actually a lot of differences between alcohol and non-alcohol hand sanitisers, primarily how they function in regard to bactericidal and viricidal activity and the effect they have on the skin. Supermarket shelves are packed with multiple brands offering a huge range of choice from fragrance, to packaging and even ingredients such as alcohol or non-alcohol based, but how do you choose the right product and how do you know which is the most effective? Let’s start with looking at the base ingredient which is either alcohol (commonly either ethanol or isopropyl alcohol) or no-alcohol (commonly an antiseptic or disinfectant). We’ve now come a long way since these early days of hand sanitiser.
#Weclean hand sanitizer update#
In this update they mention the need to evaluate hand hygiene products and consider efficacy against various pathogens as well as acceptability by users, making note of characteristics that can affect opinion such as smell, consistency, colour and effect of dryness on the hands. We all know how important hand washing is when it comes to hygiene and infection control, but when hand sanitiser entered the consumer marketplace in the early 2000s the way in which we clean was changed forever.įollowing an update in guidance by the CDC back in 2002, and further published by other healthcare bodies, the use of hand sanitiser and alcohol-based rubs was encouraged within health care settings as both a time saving exercise and method to reduce and control infection rates and outbreaks. Difference between alcohol and alcohol-free hand sanitisers
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