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Washing hands with soap and water whenever possible because handwashing reduces the amounts of all types of germs and chemicals on hands.

Hand sanitizer

As coronavirus cases increase exponentially in India. It is high time people should tick all the right safety boxes to prevent themselves from getting infected of covid-19. US CDC, United States federal agency for disease control and prevention, has charted how and when to correctly apply the hand sanitizers.

Soap and water over sanitizers

CDC recommends washing hands with soap and water whenever possible because handwashing reduces the amounts of all types of germs and chemicals on hands. Soap and water are more effective than hand sanitizers at removing certain kinds of germs, like Cryptosporidium, norovirus, and Clostridium difficile.

Choosing a correct sanitizer

If soap and water are not available, using a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol can help you avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of microbes on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs.

Hand sanitizers without 60-95% alcohol
1) may not work equally well for many types of germs
2) merely reduce the growth of germs rather than kill them outright.

How to apply a sanitizer

When using hand sanitizer, apply the product to the palm of one hand and rub the product all over the surfaces of your hands until your hands are dry. People will have to use a large enough volume of the sanitizers and should not wipe it off before it has dried. According to CDC, sanitizers take about 30 second to kill germs and bacteria.