In the mid 19th century, hand washing with soap became recognized as a major contributor to preventing the spread of diseases. Unfortunately, only 32% of men and 64% of women wash their hands with soap. This article discusses the use of hand soap, hand sanitizer and hand gloves to improve people's health by controlling the spread of viruses and bacteria.

Washing with hand soap - Hand soap is available in both plain and antibacterial formulations. Hand soap also comes in bar and liquid configurations.

Plain soap products - These products are generally a formulation of natural soap and various other secondary ingredients.

The secondary ingredients include moisturizers, fragrances, and/or other properties advertized by the brand such as floatation. Finding 100% natural plain hand soap with no secondary ingredients is impossible unless it is homemade. Plain hand soap works by separating most contaminants from the skin so that they can be washed away by water. The plain soap does not contain any antibacterial chemicals. Finding plain hand soap in the form of liquid soap is very difficult since most liquid soap products are formulated as antibacterial soap. Antibacterial soap products - Antibacterial soap works similar to plain soap and it also kills bacteria on contact. The merit of using antibacterial soap is still the subject of much controversy for the following reasons:

If plain soap is used for 20 seconds or more to do a good job of cleaning hands, all viruses and bacteria will be washed away with the water. A chemical named Triclosan is added in small quantities to these antibacterial soap products to kill bacteria on the skin. Some people fear that many of the common bacteria are becoming more tolerant to Triclosan because of its overuse. In addition, Triclosan is known to be an endocrine disruptor and reacts with the chlorine in tap water generating chloroform. These concerns have led some countries to consider phasing out the use of Triclosan. Triclosan has little or no effect on viruses that cause the common cold and seasonal flu. It only works on bacteria.

Bar vs. liquid soap - While the choice between bar soap and liquid soap is a matter of preference when soap is used in the household, most public facilities use liquid soap. In addition to the formulation differences described previously, the recommended method for using bar vs. liquid soap differs as follows:

With bar soap, the hands should be wet first before applying the soap and then rinsed thoroughly with water. With liquid soap, it is recommended to rub the hands with liquid soap first allowing the antibacterial function to work and then rinse thoroughly with water. This process avoids rinsing most the liquid soap down the drain.

In general, buying antibacterial hand soap is a waste of money as long as hands are properly washed for 20 seconds or longer. Since few people actually wash their hands properly, antibacterial soap is of some value. This is especially true for people working around raw meats or in hospitals where dangerous bacteria are very likely to exist.

Disinfecting with hand sanitizer - For people with busy life styles unable to visit restrooms frequently to use soap and water, the quick hand sanitizing gel is the answer. Hand sanitizer products do not remove the dirt, but they kill viruses and bacteria on the hands.

To be effective in killing viruses and bacteria, hand sanitizer products should contain 60% or more alcohol. These products come in squeeze bottles, pump bottles, and wipes that can be easily carried. Many public facilities have installed dispensers for hand sanitizer, and many companies provide free personal size hand sanitizer products to their employees.

These hand sanitizing products are designed to use frequently. The hands should not be wet when a person applies a hand sanitizer. The following partial list includes typical applications for the use of hand sanitizer:

Before preparing or eating food After blowing nose, coughing, or sneezing in hands Before and after treating cuts and scrapes on the skin Before installing contact lenses After touching something known to contain viruses or bacteria (e.g. a sick person or garbage). After using the restroom if a proper hand washing was not available

Since the alcohol in hand sanitizer dry the skin, the use of skin moisturizer is also recommended. Caution: Moist hands attract germs more than dry hands.

Protecting hands with gloves - The use of hand protection in the form of gloves became very prominent in the 1980's because of HIV. Dentist and doctors have increased the use of gloves significantly as well as food service workers and others. When the protection involves blood, urine, saliva, etc., EXAM (medical grade) gloves must be used. For all other uses, non-EXAM gloves can be used. A light powder is sometimes used to make it easier to slide in and out of the gloves. Latex and non-latex gloves are the two major choices.

Latex gloves - Although latex cloves are by far the most common in use because they are the most comfortable to wear, frequent users often develop allergies to the natural protein in latex. The quality (defect rate) of latex gloves is also much better than the alternatives.

Non-latex gloves - Synthetic rubber (Nitrile or Neoprene) gloves are much more tolerable for people who are allergic or sensitive to Latex.

Synthetic rubber gloves are the best alternative to latex, but in some cases they can also lead to issues with allergies. Synthetic rubber gloves often cost more. The least expensive synthetic rubber gloves often have greater defect rates. Vinyl gloves - Vinyl gloves have become very popular for food service applications because they have few or no issues with allergies. Vinyl gloves do not stretch or allow the skin to breathe. Since they are the worst fitting, they are used in applications where the gloves will be removed and thrown away frequently.

When removing gloves worn for protection, people must be careful not to contaminate their skin. The gloves should be rolled off the hands so that only the inside surface of the glove will come in contact with the other hand.