I have a friend who conducts about a dozen job interviews each day, with a courteous hand-shake before and after each meet-up. With many of his interviews back-to-back, he doesn’t get a chance to properly wash his hands. So, between appointments, he squirts on hand sanitizer to prevent spreading germs from applicant to applicant.

He complains that his hands are raw from all the alcohol, but he considers it a necessary precaution. But is this quick wipe-up enough to protect him and the folks he interviews from spreading cold, flu, and H1N1 germs? Is hand sanitizer as effective as a good hand-washing?

You can count on hand sanitizer as an in-a-pinch soap-and-water substitute. Used properly, hand sanitizers can be a safe and effective way to protect hands from the germs that cause colds, flu, and gastrointestinal infections. Nothing quite measures up to a thorough hand-washing, though:

via Medbroadcast: Hand sanitizers do not clean off visible dirt. They’re meant to kill germs, but if you can see dirt, grime, blood, or anything else, you need to wash with soap and water.

What does a proper hand-washing look like? Keep reading here for the 6-step guide to washing your hands - the right way.

Ever wonder about the hand hygiene of presidents, queens, and other dignitaries obliged to shake the hands of hundreds of people at public events? With the spread of H1N1, I imagine what a heat-seeking camera would see during these line-up greetings: germs spreading from hand to hand to hand to hand. Do you suppose they discreetly squirt sanitizer in their palms between shake sessions?

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