SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Which is more effective when it comes to fighting germs: washing with soap and water or using hand sanitizer?
Evidence suggests the results are pretty much the same. Researchers in New Zealand found that adding hand sanitizer dispensers to classrooms did not lead to fewer sick calls among students.
The study looked at almost 70 schools. Half of the classes used soap, the other half used alcohol-based hand sanitizer. The students all received a 30-minute in-class hand hygiene education lesson. After 20 weeks, both groups ended up with virtually the same results when it came to the number of illness related absences.
Still the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the traditional way of washing your hands is always the better way to go. But if you don’t have access to soap and water, using hand sanitizer is better than nothing.