Wichita State Microbiologist Fawn Beckman joined us for a Live Interactive Blog. You can read some of the questions and answers from that blog at the bottom of your screen.
By Brian Heap (WICHITA, Kan.)
CBS News recently reported that Sales of hand sanitizer jumped more than 40% since the H1N1 flu virus began spreading across the country.
Millions of people are reaching for a dollop at work, in restaurants, or anywhere on the go. FactFinder 12 Investigators wanted to know if all the fuss was justified.
With help from a Wichita State University germ expert, we put hand sanitizer to the test against good old soap and water.
"I like germs. They're so cool. It's amazing what they can do," said Microbiologist Fawn Beckman," as she prepared for an experiment. The microbiologist said proper use of hand sanitizer will typically remove nearly all bacteria from the hands, including some germs that are considered helpful to the immune system.
In our experiment, she found two subjects whose hands showed more bacteria after the sanitizer was used. "(It means) the hand sanitizer didn't kill that one ... didn't destroy it enough ... or damage the cell enough to where it would die," said Beckman. The other samples from the hand sanitizer experiment showed small amounts of so-called good bacteria left over, as expected.
To test the effectiveness of hand washing, we swabbed two fingers before and after our subjects used soap and water on their hands. The results of this test showed the soap and water got rid of the bad bacteria, while leaving behind significant amounts of the bacteria than support the immune system.
Here are the conclusions we reached:
- The hand sanitizer is more likely to remove greater numbers of bacteria, but that means eliminating more of the good stuff too.
- Hand washing proves just as effective at getting rid of the germs that can make you sick, while leaving behind more of the bacteria that keeps you healthier.
For chronic hand sanitizer users -- those who grab a splash every time they see a bottle -- Beckman offered this advice. "If you over use your hand sanitizers what will actually happen is you'll start damaging those bacteria that live on you and it actually opens you up to getting sick more easily." She said moderate use of sanitizer is a good quick fix, but proper use of soap and water is the best way to go.
All of our culture dishes.
The dishes before hand washing or hand sanitizer had the most bacteria.
Hand sanitizer eliminated nearly all of the bacteria, good and bad.
Hand washing killed bad bacteria, but left the good bacteria.
