Many people are concerned about the spread of the coronavirus and many people believe that hand sanitizer is a good way to combat the spread. That's kind of true, however, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there's still a better option and we'll get to that in a second.

First of all, DO NOT buy the price-gauged bottles of hand sanitizers that are currently listed on Amazon. There is absolutely NO WAY that you should be paying $24.99 for ONE OUNCE of Purell. According to the CDC, "alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of microbes on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs." Furthermore, some of the hand sanitizers that you find in stores and online, also don't have the correct amount of alcohol in them to be effective. Keep in mind that you need a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol to be effective.

So, leave the hand sanitizer on the store shelf or in your Amazon shopping cart because what you really need to be buying is some more soap. According to the CDC, "soap and water are more effective than hand sanitizers at removing certain kinds of germs, like Cryptosporidiumnorovirus, and Clostridium difficile1-5." They add that "although alcohol-based hand sanitizers can inactivate many types of microbes very effectively when used correctly 1-15, people may not use a large enough volume of the sanitizers or may wipe it off before it has dried."

Finally, the CDC says that if soap and water are not available, using a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol can help you avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Just please don't pay $24.99 for an ounce of it.

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