February Newsletter & Contest

As Keanu Reeves would say, “Pop quiz hotshot – soap & water or hand sanitizer?” You’ve got seconds to decide. Sweet-smelling bubbles of love or the strong-smelling alcholic mixture in a bottle?

The answer might surprise you.

Let’s face it, either choice is better than nothing. Yet for maximum protection during the current cold/flu season and COVID-19 pandemic, the experts all lean towards one as the “clear winner.”
Bacteria and viruses (including SARS-Cov-19) can live on your hands and surfaces. They can enter your body when you touch your nose or rub your eyes. Keeping our hands as clean as possible is the best preventative measure to keep from getting sick.

Hand sanitizers attack microbial threats by damaging proteins that make up their outer protective layer, splitting cells into pieces, and disturbing the metabolism within the cell.  Hand sanitizers contain typically contain isopropyl alcohol (not the kind you drink – hopefully) which is highly soluble in water.  Solutions with as little as 30% alcohol have some microbial-killing capability.  However it is recommended to use hand sanitizers that have a 60% alcohol concentration which will affect a larger variety of bacteria and viruses.  It is important to note that there are many microbial threats that too strong for hand sanitizers.  Luckily COVID-19 is not one of them.

Some soaps have antibacterial chemicals added, but many have questioned the improved effectiveness.  In fact, the FDA has actually banned 19 of these additives as recently as 2016.  The real magic of soap is that has the ability to bond with molecules that are both polar (easily mixed with water, such as sugar) and nonpolar (does not mix with water, such as oil).  Bacteria and viruses get stuck to the natural oils on our hands.  Building up a nice soapy lather has the powerful ability to lift these bacteria and viruses off of your hands by combining the water and oil.  Soap molecules can also wedge themselves into the lipid envelopes of certain microbial pathogens and break them apart – essentially causing them to spill their guts (essential proteins) out.  This rupture of the protective envelope causes the bacteria to die and the viruses to become rendered useless.  Then rinsing with clean water washes the soap and microbial pathogens away.  So the power of soap is not only its ability to inactivate and kill the viruses and bacteria like hand sanitizer – it also allows the removal of pathogens from your hands to be done much easier.

So which one gets the experts nod of victory?  The experts agree the most effective way to clean your hands is by using soap and water.

Runner Up:  Hand Sanitizer

Pros:  Microbial threats do not build up a resistance against alcohol, great in a pinch.

Cons: Overuse can actually dry out your hands, does not clean hands that are visibly dirty or greasy.

The “Clear Winner”: Soap & Water

Pros:  Lifts trapped bacteria and viruses off your hands that are trapped in oils, removes chemicals and dirt as well

Cons:  Many do not wash their hands properly, warm water is needed