Hand sanitizer is a quick and easy way to disinfect your hands. It kills bacteria and viruses that might make you sick, right on your hands! But, hand sanitizer doesn’t get rid of all bacteria and viruses, so if there is a sink around, you should wash your hands instead of just going to hand sanitizer. If you don’t have access to a sink, that is the time you should use hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer is made up of isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), ethyl alcohol (also called ethanol) and some water. Fragrances and moisturizers can also be added. The alcohol is the thing that gets rid of bacteria and viruses. When you rub it on your hands, it breaks down then outer coatings of the viruses and bacteria and starts breaking down all of the parts, until the entire microorganism is destroyed. There should be at least 60% of alcohol in hand sanitizers to be effective. Hand sanitizer can also kill some of the good bacteria on your hands, so you should only use hand sanitizer when you don’t have access to a sink to wash your hands.
