A recent study carried out in 68 New Zealand primary schools suggests that there is little to be gained by placing alcohol-based hand sanitizers in classrooms. The researchers gave over 24,000 schoolchildren a hygiene lesson, and then instructed both groups to wash their hands regularly with soap and water, while telling students at half of the schools to also use hand sanitizer routinely as well. The results indicate that the hand sanitizer didn’t really make any big difference in illness-based absenteeism rates.
Key Takeaways:
- A new Zealand study found that absentee rates were the same between two groups of children, one that used hand sanitizer regularly and one that did not.
- The New Zealand study results may be flawed because there was a flu epidemic at the time and the children in the control group may have been washing their hands more frequently.
- It is best for children to wash their hands with soap and water, but hand sanitizer works as a backup choice.
“School children get low marks when it comes to spreading germs, often sharing bugs with their classmates.”
Read more: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/12/hand-sanitizer-doesnt-help-in-schools/
