Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5 FM for Medical Matters this morning.
Are hand washing and hand sanitizer the same?
Sommer said, “Last week we talked about the norovirus, and I mentioned that hand sanitizer does not kill against certain viruses and bacteria, meaning the norovirus. So I thought, this is good to know the difference between them. I do believe in hand sanitizer. I always have it. My kids can tell you, they ask for it all the time, but when you wash your hands, you use soap and you use water and you wash it off and you dry your hands. That is correct. You’re getting the germs off. When you use hand sanitizer, you’re killing the bacteria or virus on your hands. So that is the difference. So yes, you’ll have dead bacteria on your hands, as opposed to live bacteria.”
What was the purpose of hand sanitizer?
Sommer said, “The reason why hand sanitizer became big even before COVID, like I years ago, when I worked in the hospital, it started with healthcare workers and transferring different, they call them super bugs, from one patient to another, because people are there right in a combined area, and they all have different germs and bugs, bacteria and viruses. So it’s really hard especially when two patients share a room, it’s very easy to accidentally touch one patient’s, say, cup, and then even though you wash your hands, you might forget, touch it again, go back and touch the other patient, and that’s how bugs got transferred back and forth. So that’s why they came up with hand sanitizer and started using it a lot in hospitals. OSHA recommends that for people in healthcare facilities, because it’s an easy way to keep the spread of infection down.”
Hand sanitizer may not be as effective as hand washing.
Sommer said, “So when to know when to do which one. If your hands are greasy, you can see dirt, like if you’ve been in the garden working, you’re working on your car and have grease all over your hands. You want to wash your hands. Hand sanitizer isn’t going to get that dirt and grime off, but it’s good to use when soap and water aren’t available, and you know you’ve touched some surfaces and you don’t want to touch your face. You’re worried you’re going to touch your face or you’re going to rub your eye. Those are the ways that you can contaminate yourself because you have germs on your hand. So that’s when you need to use hand sanitizer, and it needs to be at least have 60% alcohol or above to kill those germs.”
Soap and water are more effective than hand sanitizer at removing the norovirus.
Sommer said, “I think the other one is Cryptosporidium and C diff is another big superbug that a lot of times hand sanitizer won’t, the alcohol will not break down those bacteria and viruses so soap and water is better. When you wash your hands, you’re not necessarily killing the bacteria on your hands, but you’re washing it off your hands, you’re making it go away. Hand sanitizer actually kills the bacteria on your hands.”
What’s the best way to use hand sanitizer?
Sommer said, “When you put it on, you need to make sure you cover your whole hand, and you need to rub it in for 20 seconds, and they recommend don’t touch anything. Let it dry, but don’t wipe it off, because if you wipe it off, then you’re defeating the purpose.”
Make sure young children don’t swallow hand sanitizer.
Sommer said, “Believe it or not, you can get drunk off of rubbing alcohol.”
What’s the best way to wash your hands?
Sommer said, “I’ve been washing my hands forever, right? We all have. We all take showers, but really, you’re supposed to, I think it says 20 seconds or 30 seconds. You need to hum Happy Birthday twice in your head while you’re watching your hands, or sing the ABCs once. You turn the water on, you lather up your hands, but you’re supposed to rub the soap on your hands for as long as two rounds of Happy birthday or one round of ABCs.”
Does it matter if it’s warm or cold water?
Sommer said, “No, I don’t think so. I know people say hot, I mean, but a lot of times when you use hot water, that’s too hot, you’re now completely drying out your skin. You’re taking all the moisture out of it. So I think lukewarm water would be good.”
What about drying your hands?
Sommer said, “You can dry as long as it’s a clean towel. If you’re at home and you use like towels at home, change those frequently, because over time, they get dirty. But you can dry your hands with the towel or air drying. It’s okay. The biggest thing, though, is, when you’re in a public place and I don’t know if you see it in the men’s room, in the women’s room, you see it, women will, well, with some women don’t even wash their hands, but that’s a whole other story. But they will take a paper towel and they will use it to turn the water on and off, and actually use a paper towel to grab the door handle when leaving, so they don’t recontaminate their hands, which is recommended because, again, germs are everywhere. I tend to wash my hands if I’m out in public, and then go back and put hand sanitizer on it, because I worry what did I touch walking from the bathroom? If I’m in a restaurant, I’m going to go touch my food. So, I’m a little over cautious. I do believe in hand sanitizer.”
So is one better than the other?
Sommer suggested, “Soap and water is always probably better when it’s available, but when it’s not, and you’ve been around or touched dirty surfaces, hand sanitizer is going to help. It definitely, over the years, has decreased the rates of infection and spread, especially in hospitals. I’ve seen that because when I first started, I would have the glove and gown and look like a mummy to walk in patient’s rooms because of all these superbugs that were going on, and once they kind of got a better handle on it, and introduced making sure that hand sanitizer was available in the halls and in the patient rooms, that had decreased tremendously. So infection control wise, from a healthcare worker, I’ve watched it help improve that. I also think it helps people out in the public. Washing your hands, for any infection, any illness, it helps prevent the spread.”
What about antibacterial soap?
Sommer said, “It does help. I just know that sometimes, like that Dial soap, that orange, that’s an antibacterial soap that has something in it that irritates a lot of people’s hands. It dries it out. I know it dries my hands out. So soap and water, the whole idea is that you’re lathering it up and you’re washing the bacteria off.”
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