Washing hands has been a cultural practice in families across the world. Children have been taught to wash their hands properly with soap and water to prevent diseases and germs. Now, when we have grown up, soaps & water have been replaced with hand sanitizer pumps and wipes. Mainly, today when the COVID-19 pandemic has reached everywhere, hand sanitizers have been a part of our daily life. Health organizations have made it compulsory to use alcohol-based hand sanitizers to minimize or curb the effect of the new pandemic. After all, hand sanitizers are perhaps the best way to stay away from germs. But, many debates have been centered on the question that finger at the effectiveness of sanitizing hands. The questions are common by must to be answered because it’s in the public interest.
So, is it safe to use alcohol-based sanitizer? What is effective sanitizer or soap & water? Though there is no end of the discussion, Ayurveda can win out of today’s things. In this article, we will try to explain this issue and talk about the best alternative to hand sanitizers to use amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Soap vs Alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer: Which Works Better
Everybody knows that handwashing is an important practice in today’s COVID-19 world. It is perhaps the best way to disinfect hands and avoid getting sick, but most people who were using soap & water earlier have questioned its effectiveness.
Well, if we talk about the experts, they think using soap was more effective than hand sanitizer as soap lifts dirt, germs, and excessive oil to give you more clean hands. Hence it is proven more effective than hand sanitizers at removing some specific kind of germs such as norovirus and Clostridium difficile. Unlike normal and alcohol-based sanitizers, soap can remove pesticides and other chemicals from your fingers. That’s why the US centers of disease control & prevention have suggested soap & water over sanitizers.
Can Hand Sanitizer Use Be Harmful?
According to Ayurveda Hospitals companies are using some harmful products in hand sanitizers that are not safe for human use. While people are widely using hand sanitizers on a daily basis, even several times in a day, health organizations have announced a rule that allows hand sanitizer manufacturers to provide proof that the chemicals used in the making of hand sanitizers are safe for people, especially for pregnant women and children.
Studies proved that using an ethanol-based hand sanitizer won’t kill cold and flu bugs because fingers remain wet with mucus and other bacteria’s. Therefore, people should either switch to Ayurveda treatment or traditionally soap & water. If you wonder if there is an alternative to hand sanitizer that is effective, you will find many in the market. But, Ayurvedic hospitals suggest using home-made sanitizer based on traditional Ayurveda treatment. Here are some best Ayurveda-based hand sanitizer alternatives that you can use to avoid viruses and bacteria’s.
Best Ayurveda-based Alternatives to Hand Sanitizers
While there is a prosperous business of hand sanitizers in the market and alcohol-based sanitizers are being sold in dollars, it is really essential to check the label carefully. There are 3 simple ways to make sanitizer at home. Check it out.
- Aloe Vera – Alcohol Sanitizer
You need ⅔ cup of rubbing alcohol and mix it well with ⅓ cup of the Aloe Vera gel and blend with a few drops of essential oil or rose water if required. [Note: this is based on our Ayurvedic practice and not recommended by CDC because they don’t have a minimum of 60% alcohol content.] - Plain Vinegar
Most sanitizers contain nearly 5% of white vinegar because it is effective to kill germs. White vinegar is an antibacterial agent that kills 99% of bacteria, interestingly, it is non-toxic, non-polluting, and edible. You simply put it in a spray bottle and use it whenever needed - Tea Tree Oil Hand Sanitizer
To make this hand sanitizer, you will need 10 drops of tea tree essential oil and 1 tablespoon Castile soap in 1 cup of water. Tea tree oil is an antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory product and the Castile soap dissolves the bad oil from the surface. Similar to plain vinegar sanitizer, you just need to spray the solution on your hands and get rid of viruses.
WHO has a comprehensive guide on how to make your own hand sanitizer , make sure it contains more than 70% alcohol. Since using alcohol based sanitizer can be harmful on your hands, adding the above mentioned homemade ayurvedic sanitizers can prevent dryness/roughness of your skin.
Dr. Mini Nair, came up with these alternatives leveraging years of expertise in rendering Ayurvedic treatments and successful practices. Since Ayurveda is said to have a solution for all problems, here at Ayurhealing, we render many Ayurvedic treatments. We believe that “the great thing about Ayurveda is that its treatment always yields, side benefits, not side effects!”