High-Alcohol Hand Disinfectants Benefits in terms of safety and cost Alcohols, such as ethanol and propanols, are proven to be among the most important ingredients in hand disinfectants. Many guidelines recommend an alcohol content of 60-95% to adequately protect patients and staff from transmissible germs. While products with a lower alcohol content may appear cheaper at first glance, products with a higher alcohol content offer more benefits on closer inspection. However, alcohol content claims should always be taken with a pinch of salt: since percentage by volume and percentage by mass cannot be directly compared [1]. Reducing consumption saves money A high-alcohol hand disinfectant usually requires a much smaller volume than a low-alcohol product to properly disinfect hands – often only 1 x 3 mL instead of 2 x 3 mL. As a result, more disinfections can be performed per bottle with a high-alcohol product. So there is huge potential for savings, even if the individual bottle of a high-alcohol product is more expensive in direct comparison. Another advantage is that the bottles of high-alcohol products need to be changed less frequently. This frees up staff time for other tasks and is a plus in terms of plastic waste. In addition, high-alcoholic products tend to dry faster than low-alcohol products, which also saves time for healthcare professionals [2] and meets their daily needs [3]. € KNOWLEDGE 16
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