A new study has shown the correct way of washing your hands is by not forgetting to clean your fingertips. Additionally, the amount of alcohol-based hand sanitisers typically used to disinfect hands is not enough, the study said. Researchers from Budapest’s Semmelweis University and Obuda University warned that thousands of people lose their lives worldwide due to hospital infections and the international guidelines seem insufficient.
On World Hand Hygiene Day, celebrated every year on May 5, the study was published in the journal Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control.
The study found that 1.5 ml of hand sanitiser proved insufficient in either format (gel or liquid) to completely cover the hand. Over 340 medical students were given 1.5 or 3 ml alcohol-based hand sanitisers with the same composition as commercially available ones. They used these amounts twice – first in a liquid, then in a gel-based form. “The gel ones, on average, left 7 per cent of the hands untreated. The liquid agent left 5.8 per cent uncovered, which is already a significant shortcoming regarding patient safety in a clinical setting,” said Dr Constantinos Voniatis, resident surgeon at the Department of Surgery, Transplantation and Gastroenterology of Semmelweis University.
In contrast, the 3 ml amount worked well for both gel and liquid hand sanitisers as the uncovered area remained below 1.5 per cent. The researchers observed that most often the fingertips and the back of the dominant hand were left out while disinfecting.

Dr Tamas Haidegger, Director General of Obuda University’s Research and Innovation Centre and member of WHO’s Private Organizations for Patient Safety (POPS) working group said that the current WHO guidelines are not specific enough, and only state that people should use a “palmful” amount of hand sanitiser and rub for 20-30 seconds.
Source: India Today