Does the effectiveness of hand sanitizer reduce over time Essay

Does the effectiveness of hand sanitizer reduce over time - Essay Example Hand hygiene is one of the simplest and effective ways to prevent the spread of microbial infections. A hand sanitizer is a supplement or an alternative to hand washing with soap. The purpose of a hand sanitizer is to eliminate germs on hands that could cause diseases. Although a proper hand washing with soap is more effective in killing bacteria and viruses than hand sanitizers (Grayson et al., 2009), the latter is widely used in most hospitals as fast and efficient antiseptic tool when water and hand soaps are not readily available. Accessible dispensers with an alcohol-based, waterless hand sanitizer have been demonstrated to significantly increase hand hygiene among health care workers (Bischoff et al., 2000). Notably, a hand sanitizer is not only effective against bacteria and viruses, but also on other microorganisms such as fungi. During a flu season, for instance, alcohol-based hand sanitizers have proven effective in getting rid of such disease-causing microorganisms commonl y associated with respiratory and/or gastrointestinal infections (Sandora et al., 2005). There are two main types of hand sanitizer: alcohol-based and non-alcoholic based sanitizers. Non-alcohol based hand sanitizer consists of non-toxic and non-flammable ingredients which are friendly to users and the environment. However, such hand sanitizers may cause germs to develop resistance to the sanitizing agent, and so, they merely reduce their growth rather than kill them (Todd et al., 2010).