WEBVTT - Why Does Hand Washing Beat Hand Sanitizer Hands Down? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:06.520 Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:10.240 brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here. This episode is part of 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:13.240 the miniseries we're doing on some health and safety topics 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:17.439 surrounding the novel type of coronavirus identified in which causes 0:00:17.480 --> 0:00:22.040 what is therefore being called COVID nineteen. Because everything is 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:25.960 a little less scary when you understand it better. So 0:00:26.280 --> 0:00:30.080 you're probably aware that with the novel coronavirus outbreak, hand 0:00:30.120 --> 0:00:34.600 sanitizer has gotten very hard to find. However, soap seems 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:38.120 to still be in good supply. This is a little 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:41.519 counterintuitive given that to keep yourself safe from this virus, 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:45.240 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends hand washing 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:48.639 first and using hand sanitizer only as a backup if 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:52.600 you don't have access to running water. We spoke with 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:56.360 Dr Greg Poland, a representative for the Infectious Diseases Society 0:00:56.360 --> 0:00:59.440 of America and professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:04.080 the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He said proper hand 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:08.240 washing is the safest, most efficacious, least expensive, and readily 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:13.720 available method to prevent disease. So why would plain old 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:16.280 soap and water be more effective against germs than an 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:21.679 alcohol based hand sanitizer. Poland explained, when you're physically washing 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:25.440 your hands, you're doing three things. You're removing visible dirt 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:29.200 and mucus, you're using a soap that decreases surface tension, 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:33.440 and your physically by friction loosening, removing and washing away 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:37.520 whatever is on your hand. This includes germs that you 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:41.120 can't see, and is perhaps particularly effective at stopping the 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:44.960 spread of some germs like coronavirus. Is because the outer 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:48.120 casing of these germs is made up of lipids, which 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:52.160 are fats. Just as soap can wedge itself down between 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:54.480 particles of grease on a dirty pan and help break 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:58.000 it up, molecules of soap can elbow into that lipid 0:01:58.160 --> 0:02:02.280 envelope around a microbe and break it apart, thus rendering 0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:07.040 the microbe unable to attack and infect cells. Studies have 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:09.600 shown that soap and water is more effective than hand 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:13.120 sanitizer at removing certain viruses in bacteria that attack the 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:18.760 intestines and respiratory tract. Coronavirus is included, and hand washing 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:21.919 is especially effective for very dirty hands, such as those 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:25.280 you get from gardening, playing sports, or wiping the running 0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:28.280 nose with the back of your hand. Poland said, if 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:31.760 your hands are visibly soiled, hand sanitizer can't get to 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:35.080 all the skin surfaces, and if your hands have mucus 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:40.200 on them, hand sanitizer cannot penetrate. Remember, if you have 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:43.840 the flu for example, influenza viruses will be present in 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:47.360 your mucus. Several studies have shown that hand washing got 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:50.000 rid of the flu virus from hands much faster than 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:54.840 hand sanitizer diad. Okay, so we've gone over why hand 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:58.600 washing trump's hand sanitizing. But in order for hand washing 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:01.720 to work, you have to do it properly. You've probably 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:04.000 seen a billion memes this week about how to do it, 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:07.600 but let's review the steps for everyone's sake. There are 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:09.800 a whole bunch of times that people should be washing 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:12.960 their hands, but probably the most important are before you 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:17.160 prepare or eat food, after using the bathroom, and before 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:23.079 you touch your face. Here's the protocol according to the CDC. First, 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:26.640 wet hands with clean running water. Warm more cold will do. 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:30.760 Then turn off the tap and apply soap. Lather your 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:33.400 hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Any soap 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:36.240 will work. It doesn't have to be antibacterial, and remember 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:40.160 antibacterial soap won't help keep you safer from viruses than 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:44.720 regular soap because they're different credits. As you lather in rub, 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:47.040 make sure to get all the parts of your hands 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:50.480 the backs, palms, between the fingers and under finger nails. 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:54.880 Start at your fingertips and work backward. Rub your hands 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:57.360 for at least twenty seconds. You can hum or sing 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:00.680 Happy Birthday twice or some other ditty if counting doesn't 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:03.200 do it for you. The five seconds that most people 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:07.520 take to wash their hands doesn't get as many microbes off. Afterwards, 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:10.280 rinse your hands well under running water and dry them 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:13.480 using a clean towel or with an air dryer. If 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:15.520 you're in a public restroom, it helps to use a 0:04:15.560 --> 0:04:18.320 paper towel to turn the faucet off and to open 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:21.960 the bathroom door. A lot of publicity has gone into 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:25.000 educating people that they're not washing for long enough, but 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:27.839 many are also missing the mark by not thoroughly rubbing 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:31.360 all parts of the hand. Poland said, think of how 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:35.039 we transfer viruses, bacteria, et cetera into our body. It's 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:37.680 with the area of the hand that nobody washes properly. 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:41.520 That is the fingertips. People wash the palm, they wash 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:43.440 the back of their hand, They wash the bottom third 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:45.560 of the fingers. But have you ever seen someone wash 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:50.400 fingernails or tips? So the next time you're washing up, 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:52.719 make a point to pay extra attention to these often 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:57.760 neglected appendages. There will be times, though, when hand sanitizer 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:00.839 just makes more sense than hand washing. Let's say you 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.080 were in the bathroom at your office. Followed all the 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:06.719 steps we outlined above, so now you have perfectly clean hands. 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:09.880 But wait, you need to open the door that leads 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.799 from the hallway where the bathroom is back to your office. 0:05:13.200 --> 0:05:15.600 Dozens of people are opening and closing that door all day. 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:19.080 Applying a dollop of hand sanitizer might be easier than 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:22.359 washing your hands again, so here's the correct way to 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:26.760 do that. First, make sure you're applying enough. About a 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.800 quarter to a half dollar sized amount of hand sanitizer 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:33.080 is necessary. Rub it over all the parts of your hand, 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:35.480 starting from the finger tips and working your way back 0:05:35.560 --> 0:05:39.640 to disinfect, and don't forget in between your fingers. Poland 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:43.000 said keep doing that until it's dry. That way, you 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:45.920 know you've had enough exposure time for that disinfectant to kill. 0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:49.159 Resist the urge to wipe your hands on a paper 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:52.080 towel or your pants to speed up the drying process. 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:57.640 Since hand sanitizer and washing can be very drying, you 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:00.120 might want to keep some hand lotion or cream or 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:04.200 by to apply once your hands are dry. And just 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:07.719 one more thing. Dr Poland has fielded questions from people 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:11.400 who asked about using disinfecting wipes like those made by 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:14.760 Chlorox or lysol on their skin as an added layer 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:20.440 of protection. He strongly advises people against this quote. Do 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.280 not wipe your face with chlorox wipes, do not clean 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:25.800 your nose with it, and do not suck on it. 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:28.719 It does not help, it will harm you, and it hurts. 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:37.400 It offers no benefit. Today's episode was written by Ali A. 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:39.800 Hoyt and produced by Tyler Klang. For more on this 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:42.600 and lots of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com. 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:44.880 Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio. For more 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:47.360 podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:50.159 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.