There’s been a lot of talk about masks recently thanks to all the Karens of the world but let’s take a moment to chat about hand sanitizer. The good news is you don’t really need to turn to the black market to get some anymore. The bad news is, even if your hands look like you're slowly transitioning into an iguana, you’re probably amongst the many using it all wrong. Here are some common hand sanitizer mistakes to avoid:
You don’t use enough hand sanitizer on your hands. This isn’t shampoo people. A little dab won’t do you. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention says you need to use enough to cover all surfaces of your hands. Basically, you should be squirting it out until you think ‘that’s too much’ and do a little more. You need enough to cover every crevice and The World Health Organization says your sanitizing session should take 20-30 seconds.
You don’t wait for the hand sanitizer to dry. According to Dr. Zeke J. McKinney from Minnesota’s HealthPartners Riverway Clinic, if you don’t wait for it to dry, you can “end up wiping it off on something, and then it’s not really doing its job.” The CDC says to rub for 20 seconds but really you should keep rubbing until your hands are completely dry to be safe.
Just a reminder, a spritz of hand sanitizer is not a good replacement for a good old-fashioned hand washing. It should be just what you use when a sink isn’t around. If it’s used properly, hand sanitizer is an effective way to slow the potential spread of the coronavirus, but it’s going to take a lot more than a little Purell to keep us safe so make sure it’s not the only preventative measure you’re taking.
Source: HuffPost