Page 30 - HPIC-Magazine (Feb-2021)

Special Article

Hydro-alcoholic hand sanitizing gel with

Acrypol 956 Polymer

We are living in unprecedented
times. One minute everything was
“normal” and before we knew it,
terms such as clinical masks, social
distance, and hand sanitizer have
become a part of our daily vocabu-
lary. The world is facing a medical
crisis amid the COVID-19 pandemic
and the role of adequate hygiene and
hand sanitizers is inevitable in con-
trolling the spread of infection in pub- COVER ALL SURFACES
lic places and healthcare institutions. APPLY THE PRODUCT ON RUB HANDS TOGETHER UNTIL HANDS FEEL DRY
THE PALM OF ONE HAND
(20 SEC)
The onset of the pandemic has
heightened our need for proper per- soap and water. Alcohol-based hand A hand sanitizer is a hand anti-
sonal sanitation and hand hygiene. sanitizers have been utilized as an septic that is applied and rubbed
Health authorities around the world effective alternative to hand wash- into the hands to kill disease-causing
have insisted that people carry hand ing to prevent the spread of bacterial bacteria. Sanitizer is used when soap
sanitizer with them. There has been a and viral infections, making it one of and water is not an option. Hand
great surge in demand for hand sani- the essential protocols in decreasing sanitizer is typically available in two
tization products, leading to short- healthcare burden. forms: liquid and gel form.
ages in their supply. A consequent
increase of sub-standard products The success of the hand saniti- Many experts have said that the
in the market has raised safety con- zation solely depends on the use of more the alcohol content a liquid or
cerns. effective hand disinfecting agents gel hand sanitizer, the more effective
formulated in various types and forms it is at killing off bacteria. But what
Hand hygiene is of utmost im- such as antimicrobial soaps, water- is the minimum alcohol content re-
portance as it may be contaminated based or alcohol-based hand saniti- quired for a sanitizer to be effective?

easily from direct contact with airborne zer, with the latter being widely used

microorganism droplets from coughs in hospital settings. To date, most of A hand sanitizer that has at least
and sneezes. Particularly in situa- the effective hand sanitizer products 60% alcohol content. This isn’t new
tions like pandemic outbreak, it is are alcohol-based formulations con- information because alcohol has been
crucial to interrupt the transmission taining 62%-95% of alcohol as it can used as a disinfectant throughout
chain of the virus by the practice of denature the proteins of microbes and history and into the modern medicine
proper hand sanitization. It can be have the ability to inactivate viruses. world.
achieved with contact isolation and
strict infection control tool like main- Alcohol alters the bacteria from
taining good hand hygiene in hospi- its original state through a process
tal settings and in public. called denaturation. This is how it
fights off the pesky germs that could
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers cause you disease. For instance, if
One of the many ways to prevent you have the virus that could cause
the spread of this virus, as with pre- COVID-19 on your hand and you ap-
vious contagious pathogens, is fre- ply an alcohol-based hand sanitizer,
quent and effective hand washing. In the alcohol will alter the organism’s
both healthcare and community set- chemical makeup, preventing it from
tings, alcohol-based hand sanitizers doing any real damage.
have become a popular alternative to
the traditional hand washing with There are so many hand sanitizers
30 Home, Personal & Institutional Care India February 2021