Michael Schubert
answered on 16 Mar 2020:
last edited 16 Mar 2020 12:26 pm
If you don’t have hand soap, you could try other things. Bar soap and even shower gel are good alternatives. You can even use dish soap if you need to – that will clean your hands, too! If you have no soap at all and you can’t go outside, you can buy soap online and have it delivered to you. You can also use hand sanitiser in the meantime (just make sure it has at least 60% alcohol).
It’s possible to make your own hand sanitiser, too, if you have the right ingredients. You need a high-percentage alcohol like rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol or ethanol and some gel (for instance, aloe vera burn gel). Mix 2/3 alcohol with 1/3 gel, shake, and you can use that to clean your hands when you can’t wash them with soap and water!
If you have no soap, just rubbing your hands together under the water does do some good. Do it for 15 seconds at least. A study from London School of Tropical Hygiene found that washing with water alone reduced bacteria on hands to about one-quarter of their prewash state. So it is better than doing nothing for sure!
IMPORTANT: This question and its answers are about coronavirus (COVID-19). The information on this page might be out of date or wrong.
For up-to-date health information and advice, please go to the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Comments
Pan-ngum commented on :
If you have no soap, just rubbing your hands together under the water does do some good. Do it for 15 seconds at least. A study from London School of Tropical Hygiene found that washing with water alone reduced bacteria on hands to about one-quarter of their prewash state. So it is better than doing nothing for sure!
Mick commented on :
Wow, that’s great to know! I guess washing your hands always helps, even if you run out of soap to do it with.
Mod Em commented on :
IMPORTANT: This question and its answers are about coronavirus (COVID-19). The information on this page might be out of date or wrong.
For up-to-date health information and advice, please go to the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/