Already during the swine flu epidemic, a good ten years ago, JDMT published illustrated instructions in several languages on how to clean hands correctly, whether with soap and water or with hand disinfectant. As part of the joint measures against COVID-19, JDMT is publishing these again. These instructions may be used freely – provided the source is acknowledged (deutsch, english, français, italiano).
It is better to clean our hands with soap and water rather than to use hand sanitiser
Water and soap remove the viruses and with hand disinfectant we inactivate them, as long as we carry out the hand disinfection correctly. JDMT recommends that hand hygiene is primarily done with soap and water. The use of hand disinfectant is appropriate when
- cleaning with soap and water is not possible
- 1-3 times a day in addition to hand hygiene with soap and water to further reduce the viral load on the hands
- After special exposure in addition to cleaning with soap and water
