Experts say that washing your hands is a more effective protection against coronavirus COVID-19 than hand sanitiser. Keep lathering for around 15 to 20 seconds, scrubbing all parts of your hand, especially between your fingers and under your fingernails. Here are the WHO's recommended steps for properly washing your hands. Dry your hands using a clean paper towel (best bet), hand dryer (OK), or let them air dry (in a pinch).

Unlike washing hands with soap and water, sanitizer doesn't remove all harmful germs on your hands. A 2017 study that compared liquid and foam soaps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC7JnSkeyLM&app=desktop from the same brand found that washing with foam didn't significantly reduce bacteria on the hands of people who were in the study, while washing with a liquid soap did.

Without proper hand washing, this could easily lead to something harmful entering the body, spreading elsewhere, or causing cross-contamination. The other soaps intended for use in acne are mainly those designed for use on oily skin, which have very potent cleansing properties.

While the fact is that hand washing is a fundamental and highly effective hygiene measure that has been advised during countless past disease outbreaks, the truth is that many people still don't wash their hands often enough or well enough to protect themselves or others from infections, including the coronavirus circulating around the U.S. and the globe.

It is so important that today (March 20) Google honored Ignaz Semmelweis , the German-Hungarian physician and scientist who popularized how important hand-washing is in 1847 by demonstrating with his work that cleaning hands drastically reduced the number of deaths of women after childbirth.

When drying your hands, Rouleau said blot, don't wipe to prevent micro-abrasions on the skin. Rub the gel over all the surfaces of your hands and fingers until your hands are dry. This rule does not affect hand sanitizers, wipes, or antibacterial products used in healthcare settings.