As we see basic commodities become valuable items during this coronavirus outbreak, we are led to wonder which items are really necessary and which are just helpful. One of these “hot” items is hand sanitizer. In the last few weeks, we have seen bottles of hand sanitizer flying off of the shelves in the stores, so much so that the amount that we can buy in many locations is limited. We see businesses, offices, and restaurants doubling down with the hand sanitizer, planting the clear bottles on every corner. All of us want to help slow the spread of COVID-19, especially by following the guidelines set out by the CDC, the federal government, and each local and state authorities. Central to hand sanitization is proper handwashing. If we can all keep our hands clean, we are one major step closer to slowing down the spread of this massive pandemic. To put it simply, the CDC recommends both handwashing and the use of hand sanitizer. But which is better, if any? And what purpose do both hand sanitizer and proper handwashing serve? What are their similarities and differences?

Which Is Better, Hand Sanitizer or Washing Hands?

Both hand sanitizer and hand washing kill bacteria and viruses on our hands. Hand sanitizer is recommended for use throughout the day in medical clinics, and hand washing is recommended for most of us at home, with steady access to a sink and soap. Both are needed. And here’s why:

Positives of Hand Sanitizer

The CDC recommends that medical providers use hand sanitizer instead of handwashing throughout the day, except in cases of using the restroom, before and after eating, and when their hands are visibly dirty.

Specifically, they ask that medical providers, and actually all of us, use hand sanitizer often.

But this isn’t any new information. Long before the outbreak of COVID-19, we were advised:

“The CDC continues to recommend the use of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) as the primary method for hand hygiene in most clinical situations1. ABHR effectively reduces the number of pathogens that may be present on the hands of healthcare personnel after brief interactions with patients or the care environment. In addition, frequent use of ABHR formulated with emollients is less damaging to the skin than frequent hand washing. This factor, along with ease of use and greater access, leads to greater overall compliance with the use of ABHR than handwashing with soap and water.  Hands should be washed for at least 20 seconds with soap and water when visibly soiled, before eating, and after using the restroom.” —Frequently Asked Questions about Hand Hygiene 

Hand sanitizer is portable, accessible, and quick to use, making it a convenient way for us to help slow the spread of any viruses and bacteria.

Negatives of Hand Sanitizer

The main downside of hand sanitizer is that whatever dirt or grime is on your hands will stay on your hands instead of being washed away with water. Washing with soap and water is preferred when it is accessible, for most of us staying at home with accessibility to soap and water.

For a more overall, thoroughly clean, using soap and water kills bacteria while also rinsing away whatever debris has gathered on your hands. Bacteria are killed but not physically removed from the hands from the use of hand sanitizer.

READ MORE: How Do I Prepare For A Pandemic Outbreak?

So What Type of Hand Sanitizer Should I Get?

The specific type of hand sanitizer you purchase should contain either greater than 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol as active ingredients. (Both of these active ingredients are types of alcohol.) Benzalkonium chloride, another active ingredient, is also appropriate to use, as deemed by the FDA. However, preliminary research suggests that benzalkonium chloride is less reliable in preventing the spread of coronavirus than either of the other alcohols, making alcohol the better active option in hand sanitizers for now.

Positives of Hand Washing

Hand washing is critical for killing bacteria and viruses and washing them away down a drain. The CDC recommends washing hands with soap and water often, when we are at home, throughout our day, before and after eating, after touching our faces, after using the restroom, and after sneezing or coughing.

As one physician put it simply: “Hand sanitizer may kill viruses and certain bacteria, but it does not ‘clean’ your hands like soap and water do. Sanitizer doesn’t remove actual dirt and debris. Soap kills germs, binds them, and helps physically remove them, with the water, off your skin and down the drain.” 

Therefore, hand-washing can’t be cut out just because of the convenience of hand sanitizer. There will be cases when we need actual soap and water to clean our hands properly.

Negatives of Hand Washing

The most prominent negative of handwashing is that it is not as convenient. You need clean, running water and soap in order to wash your hands. In addition, it is not sustainable to wash your hands 50 times per day without your skin suffering.

What Type of Soap Should I Use?

While many people think that purchasing “antibacterial” soap is superior to regular soap, the jury is still out with which one works most effectively. With everything that we know to this point, purchasing and using any regular soap is just as effective as antibacterial soap, although you can certainly buy antibacterial soaps as well.

Proper Technique Matters

With both hands sanitizing and hand washing, the technique is critical and can make a big difference between either some or all of the germs on our hands being cleaned.

For hand washing, the CDC recommends that we wash our hands for 20 seconds, scrubbing the soap first on our palms and then between each of the fingers.

For hand sanitizer, the CDC recommends rubbing first between the palm of our hands and then continuing to rub between our fingers and on our palms until the hand sanitizer is completely dry.

READ MORE: Besides A Pandemic, What Else Should I Prepare For?

Why We Need To Both Wash Our Hands AND Use Hand Sanitizer

The use of hand sanitizer is recommended for the use of medical professionals in a clinic and for the rest of us at home or work to use throughout the day, especially after touching new surfaces. Hand washing kills bacteria and rinses it away, making it the ideal for those of us with sinks and soaps readily accessible.  We should wash our hands with soap and water before and after eating, after using the bathroom, after entering public places, or after blowing your nose, coughing, and/or sneezing. In addition to this, we should use hand sanitizer often in between our hand washing, to disinfect whatever bacteria and germs we have collected. Both are helpful for hand hygiene, health, and the slowing of the spread of many bacteria and viruses, including the coronavirus disease. The best route to go is the one that will work for you. Participating in either one of these methods will slow the spread. Although we are recommended to do both, do whatever feels easiest and most sustainable. *This site does not provide medical advice. I am not a doctor and all content on this site is of my own opinion. Please refer to your doctor or the official CDC website for more accurate information about this topic. 

What Can I Use If I Have No Toilet Paper?

Although most of us consider toilet paper to be essential, it actually is not.  Sure, it might be the easiest and most comfortable option, but what about when you can’t get your hands on a roll? Especially during the coronavirus disease outbreak, toilet paper has become scarce. As people see more empty toilet paper shelves, they buy more, and more, and more, and the shelves grow emptier and emptier. You may find yourself in a situation where you struggle to find toilet paper for a day or even a week. Luckily, people have been surviving and thriving long before the invention of our modern idea of toilet paper. We have gathered ten ideas of ways to clean yourself when toilet paper has run out.

RELATED: What I Wish I’d Known Before The Coronavirus

10 Items To Use Instead Of Toilet Paper

Water

In most Asian countries, toilet paper hardly even exists. Many people use water, especially in the form of a bidet, to clean themselves. You can buy a bidet off of Amazon here, which squirts water after you “go,” as you sit on the toilet. You can also create a portable one by filling a cleansing, or Peri Bottle, with warm water. If you don’t have either of these options, rinse yourself in a shower with soap and water, or pour water from a cup over the area needing cleaning.

Baby Wipes

Before doing anything drastic, check around the house for any wet wipes or baby wipes to use as an alternative to toilet paper. Consider even buying them at the store in a pinch, as it is a much easier option than some of the following. They make an easy, great, and effective option when you run out of the real thing. Make sure to throw away the wipes instead of flushing them, unless of course, they are flushable wipes. Even then, be aware that you are only supposed to flush one at a time. 

Kleenex

Check your storage and your bathroom for an extra box of Kleenex. Although this is similar to toilet paper, it will clog the toilet if you use too much, so be careful or flush often. This option is simple, although you may need to use a bit more than usual because of how thin Kleenex can be. 

Have you ever heard of Coin Tissue? Check it out!!!

Cloth Kinda like cloth diapers, but for adults, any form of cloth can be used to wipe. After this, you can rinse out the cloth, clean it either by hand or in the washer and dryer, and then re-use. It may be a good idea to store some soft flannel squares in your emergency preparedness in case of toilet paper running out long-term.

Paper

If you are a book-lover like me, you may be almost incapable of tearing up a book and using the pages as toilet paper. But in dire times, we must do dire things. Try newspaper, scrap paper, or pages from a book. Get creative: maybe try using old store receipts that you don’t need anymore, or old catalogs, or even old school assignments. Make sure to immediately throw the paper away and take it outside to limit the indoor smell.

Pro-Tip: If it ever does come to using paper, crumple it up a few times before use. This will get rid of the slippery surface and make it easier to use. 

Sponge

The ancient Romans actually used this method to wipe. If it worked for them, it can work for us! Although they would attach a sponge to the end of a stick for wiping purposes, you can just use the sponge. After using the sponge to wipe, boil the sponge or soak it in bleach, rinse it out, and then reuse if you’d like.

Leaves

If you are out of toilet paper and you are in the wilderness or have access to the wilderness, find a large plant leaf as a substitute. Leaves are nature’s great toilet paper! The following are usable options:

• Maple Leaves: Maple leaves are large, have no irritants, and are easy to identify. All of these aspects of maple leaves make them a great option for use when in nature.
• Corn Husks: A popular pioneer version for toilet paper, corn husks are an inexpensive, organic option. Their green leaves are soft, making them a comfortable alternative. If they have been dried out, you can soak them in water to soften them up again before use.
• Mullein Leaves: You may recognize these leaves because of the soft fuzz covering them. They grow low to the ground in sandy, dry soils. Because the fuzz may irritate especially sensitive skin, use with caution.
• Cottonwood Leaves: These multi-purpose, thick leaves can be used for bandages because of their medicinal qualities. In addition, they are thick enough to not tear during their use as toilet paper.
• Large Leaved Aster: These plants can be found in many different climates. Their heart-shaped, smooth, large leaves are perfect for toilet paper use. In fact, this leaf is called “lumberjack toilet paper.”
• Bolted Lettuce: If you have a garden, many of the plant leaves will work for toilet paper. Bolted Lettuce, for example, is a great alternative, once the leaves grow large enough for use.

Snow

If you are out of toilet paper in a cold climate, snow can be used to clean after using the bathroom.

Your Hand

I know, I know, cringe. But when you are fresh out of options, using your hand would be better than getting a red, irritated infection!

Rocks

First things first: find a smooth rock, (it’s important to find one with no sharpness) and scrape to clean. You will probably want to follow this method with squirting your butt with water. And, of course, make sure to sanitize the rock with soap and water after use.

RELATED: How Do I Prepare For An Earthquake? 

Will We Run Out of Toilet Paper During A Pandemic?

Although there is no way to know for sure, running completely out of toilet paper is unlikely. But if we continue to buy much more than we need, the shelves will continue to empty. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Right now, people are collectively panicking, which causes more buying than necessary. Read more about the psychology of panic here, and try to make decisions consciously instead of in a panicked state, for the sake of yourself and others around you. Making responsible choices for the sake of the global community instead of just yourself is one way to contribute to the solution instead of the problem.

RELATED: How To Start Prepping For Beginners – A 10 Step Guide

From a business perspective, toilet paper companies are going to want to keep producing their product, because of the massive consumer market. Although some stores may be out of toilet paper some of the time, as people continue to buy, toilet paper will continue to be produced. Simply buy as you need during this pandemic, stay calm, and start to keep your extra receipts, sponges, and baby wipes! Once all of these lockdowns are over, you can start to buy extra TP, so you have it on hand for any future pandemics.