Is Your Alcohol Handrub as Professional as You Are?

Although FDA does not cite performance standards for the third and tenth contamination/wash cycles in the HCPH study, it should be noted that the household-grade ethyl alcohol handrub results demonstrated a decreasing effectiveness at reducing the number of organisms from the third application through the tenth application. It could be interpreted that the product becomes less effective the more it is used.

This reduction in activity may have little relevance when these products are used occasionally in the household. However, in the healthcare environment, professionals may need to use an alcohol hand sanitizer many times in an hour. In these situations, it is imperative to have the same antimicrobial efficacy at the 10th use as there is at the first use. The professional-grade isopropyl alcohol handrub demonstrated its ability to maintain its antimicrobial efficacy from the first application to the 10th application.

The Mildness Factor

Many healthcare workers express concern that alcohol handrubs will have a drying and damaging effect on their skin. Professional-grade alcohol handrubs are formulated to provide superior antimicrobial efficacy and at the same time to be mild to the skin. Mildness is usually defined in terms of what it is not: a mild product is not harsh and irritating. After multiple uses, a mild product does not allow rapid transepidermal water loss from the skin and helps maintain the natural moisture of the skin.