Today, the traditional hand washing soaps are replaced by the special hand antiseptics commonly known as hand sanitizers. They are available in various forms like liquid, gel, and form. The vital ingredient used to made sanitizer is isopropyl alcohol. The other ingredients used in addition to this include – ethanol, and n-propanol. Other then this some thickening agents like polyacrylic acid are used to thicken the gels. There are many advantages of using alcohol-based hand sanitizers like these don’t make the hands dry and are also more effective at killing the microorganisms than the regular hand washing soaps. These are portable and a person doesn’t have to carry water to wash hands everywhere if he has sanitizer in his bag.
These are some points which will provide us more information about the hand sanitizers.
- Hand sanitizer types – based on the key ingredient used to make the sanitizer they are broadly classified into alcohol rub sanitizer and non- alcoholic hand sanitizers. The products fall in the first category contains the alcoholic content between 50-90% in the form of compounds like ethanol and isopropanol. The alcohol present in the sanitizer neutralizes the germs and microorganisms by denaturing the proteins. The products that fall in the second category are made without adding alcohol. The ingredients like benzalkonium chloride are used which are common disinfectants. In addition to this glycerin is also added to both types to make them thick and to add some fragrance to them.
- Success rate – the efficiency of the sanitizer is decided by many factors like the quantity of the sanitizer used for washing hands, how frequently a person uses it, and its time of exposure. Another factor that influences the effectiveness of the sanitizer is the type of infectious agent present on the individual’s hand and its susceptibility by the active ingredient of the sanitizer. The doctors recommend rubbing the alcoholic sanitizer thoroughly over the hands at least for the 30 seconds. This will remove all the infection agents like bacteria, viruses, or fungus from the fingers and palm.
- Safety – many agencies like world health organization release advisory regarding the use of the hand sanitizers. Many companies add some ingredients in place of pure alcohol which can easily catch the fire. It can be fatal for the person using it. So, it is highly recommended to buy the sanitizer after carefully reading the ingredients. If one’s sanitizer includes the antimicrobial agents it may have serious consequences like disturbance of the endocrine system.
Some hand sanitizer companies claim to kill germs naturally but this is not true. There are only a few companies in the market that sell original\ products. There are varieties of brands in the market that sells the alcohol-based sanitizers but the quality of the product varies from one brand to another. So, the experts recommend comparing the ingredients and alcohol content present in each sanitizer online before actually buying it. Also, read all the reviews of the users. It will help you to choose the best quality hand sanitizer in India.
