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You May Be Using Hand Sanitiser All Wrong

Your hand sanitizer may not be working as best as it should to ward off COVID-19.
Your hand sanitizer may not be working as best as it should to ward off COVID-19.

Keeping your hands clean is a critical component of protection against the spread of the coronavirus.

Using an alcohol-based hand sanitiser is a convenient method of hand hygiene on the go, especially when soap and water ― the more effective way of getting rid of all types of germs ― is not readily available. But just because you spray or squirt some on your hands and give them a quick wipe doesn’t mean your sanitiser is working as best it should.

Here are common hand sanitiser mistakes to beware of:

1. You don’t use enough hand sanitiser on your hands.

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention says you need to use enough sanitiser to cover all surfaces of your hands. This is a common mistake people make, said Dr. Zeke J. McKinney, the primary occupational and environmental medicine provider at Minnesota’s HealthPartners Riverway Clinic.

“The right way to use it is to basically make sure it covers both of your hands,” he said. “Often people don’t put enough on their palms to do that.“

Too much is better than too little. “If you’re worried about using too much, that’s not a problem,” McKinney said.

Once sanitiser is on your hands, take the time to cover every crevice. The World Health Organization said this should take 20-30 seconds, and it offers step-by-step instructions on the proper technique:

This WHO graphic shows people how to rub your hands for proper hygiene. The agency also suggests that you should wash them when they are visibly soiled.
This WHO graphic shows people how to rub your hands for proper hygiene. The agency also suggests that you should wash them when they are visibly soiled.

Thomas Russo, chief of the infectious disease division at the University of Buffalo in New York, said not covering your whole hand is the biggest risk with hand-sanitiser use.

“You get the palm side of your fingers. You’ll get your fingertips, but you won’t get the other side, or between the fingers and the outside of the thumbs,” Russo said. “You have to make sure you get all those other parts.”

2. You don’t wait for the hand sanitiser to dry.

The CDC says you should rub your hands together for about 20 seconds until they feel dry.

If you don’t wait for that, you can “essentially end up wiping it off on something, and then...

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