It is important to remember that soap and water are the best option when your hands are visibly dirty. However, hand sanitisers have been proven to increase hand hygiene in healthcare settings, and it makes sense to have them in early childhood centres (Based on material provided by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council).
Hand sanitisers are also known as alcohol-based hand rubs, antiseptic hand rubs, waterless hand cleaners, or gels. They can be a fast and effective way to remove germs that may have been picked up by touching contaminated surfaces. Hand sanitisers reduce the number of germs on your hands; they do not remove dirt from your hands (Based on material provided by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council).
Hand sanitisers are useful when multi tasking and hands can potentially become contaminated; for example, when helping children with eating, when on excursions, in the playground, or in other situations where soap and water are not always available (Based on material provided by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council).
if you have visible dirt, grease or food on your hands, you should wash your hands with soap and water, rather than use a hand sanitiser (Based on material provided by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council).
Hand sanitisers are safe to use as directed, but children may be at risk if they eat or drink the sanitiser, inhale it, or splash it into their eyes or mouth. Hand sanitisers should be kept well out of reach of children and only used with adult supervision. It is a good idea to place an hand sanitiser at the entrance to your early childcare centre, this can help remind parents, children as well as staff to have clean hands when they enter the centre (Based on material provided by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council).
