2007-01-25 01:59:27 · 8 answers · asked by ems7901 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Infectious Diseases
The alcohol they use in all hand sanitizers is just that; alcohol. Alcohol is not and can not be a sterilizer, or something that destroys all forms of microbial life on a surface. You cannot sterilize living tissue like your body; there are always microbes present. Endospores (spores of vegetative pathogens that are dormant) can live in buckets of alcohol. I think the reason people have problems with this is that they misunderstand basic microbiology terminology.
Sterilize: Like when the hospital autoclaves the surgical instruments. It kills everything, even endospores.
SANITIZE: The reduction of the microbial load on a given surface to a safe level for the general public without killing endospores. This is what a hand sanitizer does. This is also what a restaurant does to the eating utensils: just enough to not make you sick.
Disinfection: The destruction of vegetative pathogens, usually by chemicals.
Antisepsis: Killing vegetative pathogens on a living surface (tissue).
Really hope that this helps you out. P.S. washing your hands for 15 seconds is way better.
2007-01-25 07:15:54 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because you wouldn't need to buy more afterwards if it killed all the germs. That's good marketing strategy. *end of joke* It's probably like 100% most of the time, but they can't say it, otherwise they'd get reviewed when it actually isn't. Sorta like birth control since that's also 99.99% effective. It really normally never really happens most likely that a girl gets pregnant while on the pill, but it can.
2016-05-23 22:12:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The remaining germs actually grow at a accelerated rate due to lack of competition and the added nutrients resulting from their dead brethren. The population grows back to approximately the same level it was once at.
2007-01-25 02:25:39 · answer #3 · answered by John 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Approximately 0.1% of bacteria are truelt pathogenic By this we mean they will infect a healthy individual. Its quite ironic really that that is the same percentage that hand washes DO not kill. Makes me laugh when the Ads come on.
2007-01-25 03:01:50 · answer #4 · answered by Bacteria Boy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only sterilization kills everything. Why the hell would you be concerned? 99.99% of the germs on your skin are non-pathogenic anyway.
2007-01-25 02:15:34 · answer #5 · answered by Radagast97 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the germs that real soap and water get rid of that the sanitizer cant lmao duhhhh!!!
2007-01-25 02:02:58 · answer #6 · answered by NM 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
really nice question and i have always wondered what is the 0.1%that can not be killed and still do not know but maybe the aim of this is to tell you that it is not perfectly safe in order not to sue them in case something happened
2007-01-25 02:21:45 · answer #7 · answered by going-to-light 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hello! It is .1% (a tenth of a percent), not worth worrying about.
2007-01-25 02:03:42 · answer #8 · answered by wineduchess 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋