Types of hand sanitizer

What is a hand sanitizer?

It is is a liquid, gel, or foam generally used to decrease infectious agents on the hands
In other words, Hand sanitizer also called hand antiseptic, handrub, or hand rub, agent applied to the hands for the purpose of removing common pathogens (disease-causing organisms)

Depending on the active ingredient used, hand sanitizers can be classified as two types, such as:

1. Alcohol-based:
  - Alcohol-based products typically contain between 60 and 95 percent alcohol, usually in the form of ethanol, isopropanol, or n-propanol.
  - At those concentrations, alcohol immediately denatures proteins, effectively neutralizing certain types of microorganisms.
2. Alcohol-free:
  - They are generally based on disinfectants, such as benzalkonium chloride (BAC), or on antimicrobial agents, such as triclosan

The activity of disinfectants and antimicrobial agents is both immediate and persistent

Effectiveness of hand sanitizer

It depends on multiple factors, including the manner in which the product is applied (e.g., quantity used, duration of exposure, frequency of use) and
Whether the specific infectious agents present on the person’s hands are susceptible to the active ingredient in the product.
In general, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, if rubbed thoroughly over finger and hand surfaces for a period of 30 seconds, followed by complete air-drying, can effectively reduce populations of bacteria, fungi, and some enveloped viruses (e.g., influenza A viruses)
Similar effects have been reported for certain alcohol-free formulations, such as SAB (surfactant, allantoin, and BAC) hand sanitizer
Most hand sanitizers, however, are relatively ineffective against bacterial spores, nonenveloped viruses (e.g., norovirus), and encysted parasites (e.g., Giardia)