Studies Show Hand Washing May Be More Effective Than Sanitizer

With flu season around the corner, research suggests washing hands with running water is the best defense.

Hand sanitizer might not be as effective as people think—especially against the flu. In a new study published by mSphere, researchers found that hand-washing under running water removed the flu virus from hands faster than did a dab of alcohol sanitizer, as previous studies have suggested.

There have been other studies that suggest hand-washing is the superior method against germs, but the results are not easily applicable to real-world scenarios. The study compared putting hand sanitizer on (without rubbing it in) to using running water and soap (while rubbing hands together). The study did find some interesting results between the two, but it did not factor in how rubbing your hands together while using sanitizer or soap may affect results, said the study’s author, Ryohei Hirose, M.D., Ph.D., at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Michigan in Japan.

While hand hygiene is imperative in preventing the spread of germs, colds, and viruses like the flu, scientists have long debated the effectiveness of hand-washing compared to sanitizer. mSphere’s study suggested, even with its limitations, that using hand sanitizer can remove the flu virus, but it took much longer than hand-washing did. The main reason? The mucus from the mouth and nose—which carries the flu virus if you’re infected—is not easily penetrated by the alcohol-based sanitizer.

“We had predicted that the virus in mucus would be somewhat resistant to alcohol disinfectants,” says Hirose. But it seemed to shield the flu virus from the hand sanitizer even more than expected.

While this is just the beginning of studies comparing hand sanitizer and hand washing, there is more to understand. Here are the main takeaways from the study, how to keep your hands clean, and how to protect yourself against the dreaded cold or flu.