Does hand care ruin hand disinfection?

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Dermatology
• Infection Control

Background:

• Frequent hand washing and disinfection cause skin stress, necessitating specialized hand care.
• It is crucial that hand care products do not compromise the efficacy of hand disinfectants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the interaction between hand care products (oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions) and the microbicidal efficacy of alcoholic hand rubs.
• To determine if hand care administration impacts the effectiveness of hand disinfection.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the contamination model described in European Standard EN 1500.
• Evaluated the microbicidal efficacy of three alcoholic hand rubs, both alone and in combination with two types of hand care products.
• Assessed the impact of immediate prior application and repeated application of care products before disinfection.

Main Results:

• Mean log10-reduction factors for hand rubs alone ranged from 4.03 to 4.22.
• Mean log10-reduction factors for combinations of hand rubs and hand care products ranged from 3.76 to 4.43.
• No significant differences were observed in reduction factors between hand rubs used alone versus in combination with hand care products, even with repeated applications.

Conclusions:

• Selected hand care products do not impair the microbicidal efficacy of alcoholic hand rubs.
• The use of hand care products is recommended for occupational health and infection control to mitigate skin stress from disinfection.
• Findings support the integration of effective hand care into protocols for maintaining skin integrity and disinfection efficacy.