12
votes
Accepted
Is water an essential ingredient of alcohol based hand sanitizers?
Higher concentrations of alcohol are actually less effective (that Q&A is specific for isopropyl, but the same is true for ethanol, their mechanism of sterilization is the same), see also here.
...
- 13.8k
7
votes
Accepted
Can the Coronavirus be spread via public toilet seats?
The virus causing COVID-19 infects the respiratory tract. It is spread in droplets of moisture when an infected person sneezes, coughs, and exhales. These droplets can be inhaled directly and can also ...
- 13.8k
7
votes
Accepted
Is the washing hands in order to protect yourself from COVID-19 backed up by research?
Here's an article that I found helpful, to understand why washing hands with soap is so helpful, and how it helps (Pall Thordarson is a professor of chemistry at the University of New South Wales, ...
- 470
6
votes
When is hand sanitizer appropriate/sufficient in place of warm water and soap?
Hand sanitizers have bactericidal and virucidal properties that when used properly in sufficient quantity for at least 20 seconds kill the vast majority of pathogenic organisms/viruses. Alcohol-based ...
- 5,784
5
votes
Is the washing hands in order to protect yourself from COVID-19 backed up by research?
Yes, the virus can be made un-harmful by soap and water. From the Economist:
The outer proteins sit athwart a membrane provided by the cell in
which the virion was created. This membrane, made of ...
- 171
4
votes
Is the washing hands in order to protect yourself from COVID-19 backed up by research?
There are obvious sufficient data and enough evidence that all virus are transmitted by droplet infection (body contact) and shake hands. Washing hand makes sense as the infection is happening ...
- 355
3
votes
Accepted
How can one product work both as a skin moisturizer and a soap?
Ingredients listed on the product from the photo:
White soft paraffin (known as petroleum jelly) and cetostearyl alcohol are occlusive agents that decrease water loss through the skin, so they act as ...
- 15.8k
2
votes
Accepted
When is hand sanitizer appropriate/sufficient in place of warm water and soap?
This question seems to ask in which situations hand sanitizers can be a suitable substitute for water and soap.
Techniques for hand hygiene
Soap and water is still considered the gold standard ...
- 6,887
2
votes
Is the washing hands in order to protect yourself from COVID-19 backed up by research?
"Situations Leading to Reduced Effectiveness of Current Hand Hygiene against Infectious Mucus from Influenza Virus-Infected Patients", a study published in "MSphere", compared using "antiseptic hand ...
- 121
2
votes
Accepted
Does vinegar rival alcohol in terms of the safety and effectiveness of hand washing?
According to this study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10656352
"Alternative"/"natural" cleaning products (vinegar and baking soda) were compared with regular disinfectants and tested against ...
- 517
1
vote
Is the washing hands in order to protect yourself from COVID-19 backed up by research?
There is a report from Taiwan where it was described that installing hand wash stations in the emergency department was the only infection control measure which was significantly associated with the ...
- 13.2k
1
vote
Can the Coronavirus be spread via public toilet seats?
New research from China indicates that the novel coronavirus is also spread by fecal-oral transmission, not just by respiratory droplets or environmental contact.
Hong Shan, MD, PhD, of Fifth ...
- 13.2k
1
vote
Accepted
Prophylactic effect of hand sanitizer
Yes, to a degree. Since the stuff we touch will be on our hands and the stuff that's on our hands will be on what we touch. CDC:
Quickly reduces number of microbes, but not all
Less effective in ...
- 2,975
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible