David Vidra Health Educators

With the increase in popularity of antiseptic hand gels over the past 6 years, we have seen a significant decrease of compliance with hand washing. However, hand gels were never intended as a replacement for hand washing, but to be used only in cases where hand washing was not feasible.

Per Federal law, hand washing is the primary method for cleansing hands. OSHA standards make it very clear that antiseptic hand gels do not replace the act of washing hands. In plain English, it clearly states that antiseptic hand cleansers can only be used when it is not feasible to provide hand washing facilities with running water. In our industries, running water should always be available for hand washing. Also note, per OSHA standard cited below, after the use of antiseptic hand gel, hands must still be washed with soap and water as soon as feasible. Click Here to read more.