# Is hand sanitizer effective against viruses? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 15, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hand-sanitizer-effective-against-viruses/521305 "2009-12-15T03:06:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hand-sanitizer-effective-against-viruses/521305/1 "2009-12-15T03:06:14Z")
Bactieria and viruses can both causes various diseases. Apparently soap and water do not kill either one, but the mechanical action of washing one’s hands and body can scrub them from skin. Oral and injected antibiotics are effective against bacteria but not viruses, or so I understand. So the question is - if hand sanitizers are antibacterial, are they of any use in killing viruses? ---
**Author:** ![phi2dao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6de8d8/32.png) [@phi2dao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phi2dao)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hand-sanitizer-effective-against-viruses/521305/2 "2009-12-15T05:07:02Z")
Probably not. Virus’s aren’t exactly alive, so you can’t really kill them. To “kill” a virus you really have to break it apart. I don’t think antibacterials break apart bacteria (and, as such, wouldn’t do anything to a virus), just kill them via some sort of bacteria only poison or something. If someone knows more, could they please augment/completely correct what I just said. I would appreciate it. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hand-sanitizer-effective-against-viruses/521305/3 "2009-12-15T05:17:30Z")
Someone will be along shortly, but viruses are not exactly alive in many cases [they get into the cell and effect how the cell functions, frex herpes can live in nerve tissue and cause all sorts of hell] and in some cases a virus can encapsulate to survive dessication and heat to reactivate when conditions are optimum next … ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hand-sanitizer-effective-against-viruses/521305/4 "2009-12-15T05:36:24Z")
As I understand it, alcohol does break down protein membranes of most viruses (flu virus included), sort of like an acid. So while it doesn’t exactly kill them, it makes your hands inhospitable to those types of viruses. It’s better to use alcohol-based sanitizers (i.e., Purell) than anti-microbials because bacteria and viruses can’t become resistant to alcohol. High concentrations of alcohol don’t work as well, because the chemical process requires a certain amount of water to be effective. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hand-sanitizer-effective-against-viruses/521305/5 "2009-12-15T05:40:38Z")
Center for Disease Control: > [@](#): > > What is the best technique for washing my hands to avoid getting the flu? > > Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. CDC recommends that when you wash your hands – with soap and warm water – that you wash for 15 to 20 seconds. When soap and water are not available, alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers may be used.\* You can find them in most supermarkets and drugstores. If using gel, rub your hands until the gel is dry. The gel doesn’t need water to work; the alcohol in it kills the germs on your hands. > > \*What if soap and water are not available and alcohol-based products are not allowed in my facility? If soap and water are not available and alcohol-based products are not allowed, other hand sanitizers that do not contain alcohol may be useful. New York Times: > [@](#): > > Regular soap and water and alcohol-based hand sanitizers are both effective in eliminating the H1N1 virus from the hands. In February, researchers in Australia coated the hands of 20 volunteers with copious amounts of a seasonal H1N1 flu virus. The concentration of virus was equivalent to the amount that would occur when an infected person used a hand to wipe a runny nose. > > When the subjects did not wash their hands, large amounts of live virus remained even after an hour, said the lead author, Dr. M. Lindsay Grayson, a professor of medicine at the University of Melbourne. But using soap and water or a sanitizer virtually eliminated the presence of the virus. > > Frequent hand washing will not eliminate risk. When an infected person coughs or sneezes… [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/health/15well.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/health/15well.html) More advice from the CDC: “…cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow, not your bare hands.” ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hand-sanitizer-effective-against-viruses/521305/6 "2009-12-15T15:15:59Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > More advice from the CDC: “…cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow, not your bare hands.” That’s what kids are being taught in school these days; my nieces and nephews do it all the time. Looks strange to old fogeys like myself, but I can certainly see the logic behind it. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hand-sanitizer-effective-against-viruses/521305/7 "2009-12-15T19:04:43Z")
I adopted the “cough or sneeze in the crook of my elbow/shoulder” thing as soon as I saw it - brilliant! Now, if we can just get out of the handshaking habit… The bottle of Purell on my desk says, “Kills 99.99% of germs.” On the back it says, “Hand sanitizer which kills harmful bacteria or germs.” The former microbiology tech in me doesn’t care for the imprecise language - we never got requisitions from doctors to test for “germs” in patients. I guess we must assume that by “germs” they mean “viruses.” It makes me wonder if using “germs” instead of “virus” is some kind of legal ass-covering. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hand-sanitizer-effective-against-viruses/521305/8 "2009-12-15T19:30:44Z")
I don’t know enough to give good explanations, but viruses are adapted to living in aqueous environments. At least as far as alcohol based sanitizers, I’m sure that there is some serious disinfection. Proteins will often denature at the slightest provocation. Amphiphilic structures like miscelles and phospholipid double layers will completely fail in alcohol. In general, I think viruses are pretty damned fragile outside of their natural environment. Even without sanitizers, AIDS won’t be transmitted on a toilet seat. Also, you have to remember that antibiotics may be antibacterial, but not all antibacterials are antibiotics. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hand-sanitizer-effective-against-viruses/521305/9 "2009-12-17T15:43:46Z")
Thats interesting, I had been wondering about the mechanism through which alcohol killed viruses. I had always assumed that alcohol killed bacteria by “drying” them up via osmosis (I assume salting has the same effect). Are the bacteria actually killed then by denaturing of proteins as well? ---
**Author:** ![sich\_hinaufwinden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@sich\_hinaufwinden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sich_hinaufwinden)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hand-sanitizer-effective-against-viruses/521305/10 "2009-12-18T16:29:35Z")
I looked into this recently and found that some are and some aren’t. For the ones that are, I saw a few places that said 60% was the minimum alcohol concentration necessary to be effective. More info from here: [http://microbiology.suite101com/article.cfm/alcohol\_based\_hand\_cleansers](http://microbiology.suite101com/article.cfm/alcohol_based_hand_cleansers) …but it is possible that we have a somewhat false sense of security if we assume that alcohol-based cleansers will rid our hands of viruses. **It is true that some viruses are readily inactivated by alcohol; however, some are not.** Viruses consist of nucleic acid (either RNA or DNA) surrounded by a capsid (protein shell). Some viruses have an additional external layer or wrapping known as an envelope. The envelope is created from a piece of phospholipid membrane that comes from the infected host cell during the “budding” process when viral particles leave the infected cell. Enveloped viruses are referred to as lipophilic viruses, because of their lipid envelope, while nonenveloped viruses are referred to as non-lipophilic viruses. **Generally, enveloped (lipophilic) viruses are susceptible to alcohol:** Herpes simplex virus (HSV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), influenza virus (Flu), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), vaccinia virus, Hepatitis B and C viruses are considered susceptible to alcohols. However, certain nonenveloped (nonlipophilic) viruses such as hepatitis A and enteroviruses, which are both responsible for viral gastrointestinal infections. Depending on the alcohol concentration of the hand-cleanser and time of exposure to the alcohol, hepatitis A and other nonlipophilic viruses may not be eliminated.