What is the actual difference between disinfection, antibacterial, bacteriostatic and sterilization of hand sanitizer?

The actual difference between them is whether they can kill bacteria.

Disinfection, antibiosis, bacteriostasis and sterilization are often marked on the packaging of hand sanitizer. It can be roughly divided into those that can be sterilized and those that can't be sterilized, but can prevent the growth of bacteria.

What can kill bacteria is called sterilization and disinfection, and what can prevent bacteria from breeding is called antibacterial and bacteriostatic. It should be noted that there is no word sterilization in the disinfection level of disinfection science, and there is no technical term of sterilization in the national standard of this level. These are all expressed through the de-colloquialism of the public.

Disinfection and bacteriostatic products in China are managed by the Health and Wellness Committee, and both civil and medical products must meet the requirements of relevant laws and regulations of the Health and Wellness Committee. Mainly "Technical Specification for Disinfection" and "disinfection products Label Instruction Management Specification". Products that have not been tested by professional testing institutions recognized by the Health and Wellness Committee and meet the requirements of the above specifications cannot publicize their disinfection and bacteriostatic functions.

First: disinfection

Disinfection refers to the method of killing pathogenic microorganisms, but not necessarily bacterial spores. Kill or remove pathogenic microorganisms on the media and realize harmless treatment. Chemical methods are usually used to achieve disinfection. Chemicals used for disinfection are called disinfectants. The requirement of disinfection is that the killing logarithm ≥5 (equivalent to the sterilization rate greater than 99.999%) is considered as qualified disinfection.

Second: sterilization

Sterilization refers to the treatment of killing or removing all microorganisms on the medium. Sterilization is a method to kill all microorganisms (including bacterial spores) on objects, usually by physical methods. The requirement of sterilization is that the sterilization rate should be ≥99.9999%.

Third: antibacterial

The process of killing bacteria or hindering their growth, reproduction and activity by chemical or physical means. In a broad sense, antibacterial means not only antibacterial, but also mildew-proof, virus-proof, algae-proof, antiseptic and mite-proof. The antibacterial requirement is that the antibacterial effect can be evaluated if the sterilization rate is ≥90%, and the antibacterial effect can be judged as strong if the sterilization rate is ≥99%.

Fourth: bacteriostasis

The process of using chemical or physical methods to inhibit or hinder the growth, reproduction and activity of bacteria. The bacteriostatic requirement is that the bacteriostatic rate is ≥50%~90%, which has bacteriostatic effect; The bacteriostatic rate is more than or equal to 90%, which has strong bacteriostatic effect.

Our country's disinfection standard for disinfection products is more standard and stricter than most developed countries.

It should be noted that hand sanitizer can only clean hands, but it cannot replace the function of washing hands. Alcohol is not as effective as hand washing when there is organic dirt or hands are particularly dirty.

In addition, the antibacterial hand gel with insufficient alcohol concentration can not play a bactericidal role; Improper use can not achieve the effect of bacteriostasis and sterilization; If it is used for a long time, it is easy to destroy the skin barrier of the hand. The evaporation of alcohol makes the skin drier and drier, leading to chapped, itchy and eczema.

In fact, the most effective way to wash hands is to wash the virus with soap, hand sanitizer and other decontamination products through water flow. If there is no water around or it is inconvenient to wash your hands, you can use hand sanitizer in an emergency. If there is water, it is recommended to wash hands.