The Importance of Hand Sanitising

I’m sure that we’re all too fully aware that washing our hands is an extremely important measure of personal hygiene – it helps to eliminate and prevent the spread of nasty germs that contribute to minor illnesses, infections and viruses. But, although many of us know the importance of it, very few know much else. So, I’m here to educate you!
1. Hand History
The concept of hand-sanitising goes all the way back to the early 19^th Century, when the first antiseptic agent began to emerge. In fact, in 1822, it was the work of a French pharmacist that demonstrated how solutions containing the chlorides of lime and soda could in fact eradicate the odours associated with human corpses. From this research, solutions containing these agents started to be used as disinfectants and antiseptics. Amazing to think that’s how that little bottle of hand sanitiser gel that you use everyday was discovered, right? This research eventually concluded that with good hand-hygiene practices could prevent the spread of disease and infections, and it’s why these measures have become so fundamental in all types of healthcare environments today.

2. Hand How-To

But, as well as healthcare settings, it’s also important to adopt good hand-sanitising practises within the home, as doing so can provide significant benefits such as reducing infections, including stomach upsets, respiratory tract infections and skin infections.

However, many healthcare professionals feel that this simple advice is often overlooked within the home and feel that basic hand cleansing is not practiced as regularly as advised. It’s incredibly quick and easy to decontaminate hands by hand-washing regularly, using soap or waterless hand sanitisers. And, here’s how:

• Firstly, wet hands with water
• Apply the recommended amount of soap to hands
• Rub hands together vigorously for at least 15 seconds, covering all surfaces of the hands and fingers
• Rinse hands thoroughly to remove all soap residue
• Dry hands with disposable single use towels, making sure all skin and spaces between fingers are thoroughly dried without excessive friction

Simple!

3. Hand Harms

It’s important to note that although it’s important to wash your hands, washing too regularly can have some minor effects. The frequent use of hand hygiene products is one of the primary causes of irritant contact dermatitis and can alter your skins natural barrier function, which can results in dry and irritated hands.

However, this can be avoided by using products with a low irritancy potential, and by making sure your hands are regularly moisturised, ideally with a product containing therapeutic glycerine to fully protect your hands from harsh chemicals.