Hand sanitiser became essential and valuable during the pandemic. Regardless, people have cultivated a new habit of appreciating and using these sanitisers wherever possible. The availability of hand sanitisers at high-traffic public and shared places such as schools, festival venues, shopping malls, and public parks. This is an excellent way to inspire good hygiene habits among people in these locations. Catching a glimpse of a hand sanitiser dispenser would be a reminder of the essence of maintaining a high hygiene standard. It becomes a lot easier to keep one’s hands clean when the sanitisers are accessible from key areas.
Keeping our hands clean is a constant effort and will be carried out more often depending on the busyness of an area and people’s behaviour. For example, in a retail environment, if people are exposed to sticky surfaces or to try out the same items, there could be easy contamination with the swift transmission of germs. In these situations, a regular hand wash is necessary if sufficient bathroom facilities are nearby. In the event of limited washroom facilities or a portable wash basin, a hand dispenser is an ideal alternative to maintain the hygiene standard of the area.
The effect of contaminated hands
Dirty and contaminated hands are standard as we often touch filthy surfaces and unknowingly exchange dirt through handshakes. Research indicated that washing our hands with soap and water will help reduce diarrhea-related dirt by up to 50%. If people generally watch their hands, approximately 1 million deaths yearly could be prevented as most foodborne disease outbreaks result from contaminated hands. However, this study focussed on using soap and water and not a hand sanitiser. And it is common knowledge that hand washing removes all types of germs from someone’ssomeone’s hands. At the same time, sanitisers cannot kill certain germs and remove harmful chemicals such as pesticides. Nonetheless, hand sanitisers are considered effective in combating enveloped viruses. They are the appropriate method for maintaining hand hygiene when washing hands with soap and water is impossible.
The need for hand sanitiser dispensers:
- Mitigate the spread of infection: Promoting good hand hygiene habits is essential in preventing the spread of diseases. Germs from unwashed hands can be unknowingly deposited on objects such as handrails and door handles, then transferred to someone else’s hand. This could eventually lead to respiratory infections, diarrhea, skin, and eye disease.
- Promotes a clean hand and hygienic lifestyle: When hand sanitiser dispensers are introduced in the workplace, schools, and retail locations, people become conscious of maintaining clean hands. Sometimes, communicating the benefits of the dispensers is essential in reminding the workers, attendees, or shoppers to use the dispensers. It is a simple behavioual change or adjustment that can quickly become a new standard.
Overall, hand dispenser sanitizers are designed to be portable, sturdy, and free-standing products that can be refilled and used indoors or outdoors to address contaminated hands, prevent the spread of infections, and enhance a hygienic way of life.
