Comparative Ananlysis on the Effectiveness of Commercial Hand Sanitizer
Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Introduction
A hand sanitizer or hand antiseptic is a supplement or alternative to hand washingwith soap and water. Various preparations are available, including gel, foam, and liquid solutions. The active ingredient in hand sanitizers may be isopropanol, ethanol, n-propanol, or povidone-iodine. Inactive ingredients in alcohol rubs typically include a thickening agentsuch as polyacrylic acid for alcohol gels, humectants such as glycerin for liquid rubs,propylene glycol, and essential oils of plants. Alcohol based hand sanitizers are more effective at killing germs than soaps and do not dry out hands as much. Consumer alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and health care hand alcohol or alcohol hand antiseptic agents, areantiseptic products used to avoid transmission of pathogens. It is well-known that the primary vector of transmission for disease causing pathogens is hand contact. Even when rigorous protocols for hand washing and hygiene are followed, pathogens present on any contact surface can easily recolonize recently sanitized hands. Health care settings in particular increasingly demonstrate the problems of pathogen transmission leading to nosocomial infections due to the number of the highly susceptible populations in health care facilities. Other problems associated with regulatory pressures are also demonstrated by the fact that Medicare is planning to no longer reimburse for hospital-acquired infections– particularly Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The Center for Disease Control suggests that there are two main ways to contract any of the common viral illnesses. Contracting may occur through coughing or sneezing with airborne illness (known as “droplet spread”), or through direct contact with germs spread through touching of contaminated items. Coughing and sneezing of infected individuals propel respiratory droplets of infection through the air and deposit on the mouth or nose
A hand sanitizer or hand antiseptic is a supplement or alternative to hand washingwith soap and water. Various preparations are available, including gel, foam, and liquid solutions. The active ingredient in hand sanitizers may be isopropanol, ethanol, n-propanol, or povidone-iodine. Inactive ingredients in alcohol rubs typically include a thickening agentsuch as polyacrylic acid for alcohol gels, humectants such as glycerin for liquid rubs,propylene glycol, and essential oils of plants. Alcohol based hand sanitizers are more effective at killing germs than soaps and do not dry out hands as much. Consumer alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and health care hand alcohol or alcohol hand antiseptic agents, areantiseptic products used to avoid transmission of pathogens. It is well-known that the primary vector of transmission for disease causing pathogens is hand contact. Even when rigorous protocols for hand washing and hygiene are followed, pathogens present on any contact surface can easily recolonize recently sanitized hands. Health care settings in particular increasingly demonstrate the problems of pathogen transmission leading to nosocomial infections due to the number of the highly susceptible populations in health care facilities. Other problems associated with regulatory pressures are also demonstrated by the fact that Medicare is planning to no longer reimburse for hospital-acquired infections– particularly Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The Center for Disease Control suggests that there are two main ways to contract any of the common viral illnesses. Contracting may occur through coughing or sneezing with airborne illness (known as “droplet spread”), or through direct contact with germs spread through touching of contaminated items. Coughing and sneezing of infected individuals propel respiratory droplets of infection through the air and deposit on the mouth or nose