Since
the beginning of the COVID-19 (2019 Novel Coronavirus) global outbreak, the
sales of hand sanitizers and wet wipes have skyrocketed. This is due to the
fact that aside from inhaling coronavirus droplets through the air, you can
also acquire the virus by touching contaminated surfaces then later on touching
your mouth, nose or eyes. The best way to disinfect our hands from viruses is
to wash them with soap and water. However, in situations where soap and water
are not available (e.g. outside doing your groceries), one can simply use hand
sanitizers and wet wipes.
There are two types
of hand sanitizers and wet wipes: alcohol-based
and alcohol-free. Most consumers
patronize alcohol-free hand sanitizers and wet wipes because of the notion that
alcohol is too drying to the skin. However, are alcohol-free variants equally
effective as the alcohol-based ones against coronavirus?
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) does not actually recommend alcohol-free hand disinfectants. Let me explain why.
Alcohol-free hand
sanitizers and wet wipes use benzalkonium
chloride as an active ingredient instead of alcohol. Benzalkonium chloride in an effective antibacterial agent but is
less effective against certain viruses (e.g. coronavirus). It may only inhibit
the spread of coronavirus (antiviral) but not actually inactivate them
(virucidal).
On the other hand, alcohol-based
hand sanitizers and wet wipes that contain at least 60% alcohol (either
isopropyl or ethyl) are proven to be more effective at both preventing the
growth of the viruses AND actually killing the viruses. In fact, there was a
study published in 2017 in the Journal
of Infectious Diseases which had proven that alcohol-based sanitizers can
inactivate (kill) deadly viruses like Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which are
both close relatives of SARS-CoV-2 –
the virus causing COVID-19 disease.
Again, per CDC recommendation, hand sanitizers and
wet wipes that contain at least 60% alcohol are still the most effective
disinfectants to use against coronavirus as compared to alcohol-free variants. I
think the only advantage of benzalkonium chloride-based hand sanitizers and wet
wipes is that they are non-drying and less irritating to the skin than
alcohol-based ones.
P.S.
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