Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Rev. Res., 66(1), January - February 2021; Article No. 17, Pages: 109-114 ISSN 0976 – 044X International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research Available online at www.globalresearchonline.net ©Copyright protected. Unauthorised republication, reproduction, distribution, dissemination and copying of this document in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. 109 Dr Annegowda H V 1 , Dr Mohammed Zuber 2 , Dr Darshan J C 2 , Dr Sayantan Ghosh* 2 , Dr Prolay Paul 2 1. Professor and Head, Department of Pharmacognosy, Sri Adichunchanagiri College of Pharmacy, B G Nagara, Karnataka, India. 2. Pharm D Intern, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Sri Adichunchanagiri College of Pharmacy, B G Nagara, Karnataka, India. *Corresponding author’s E-mail: gsayantan26@hotmail.com Received: 12-10-2020; Revised: 18-12-2020; Accepted: 26-12-2020; Published on: 15-01-2021. ABSTRACT Hand Hygiene is considered as one of the basic and effective way to prevent spread of various contagious diseases including Covid- 19. Among the hand sanitizers, alcohol based hand sanitizers are commonly used as they are found to possess good antimicrobial activity against different pathogens. The present review provides a comprehensive overview of the literature regarding hand sanitizers and their ability to prevent various infections. Hand hygiene is one of the basic and very necessary tool to combat various infections including covid-19. However, selection of right type of hand sanitisation is a very important criterion to be considered. An extensive awareness program is required to educate common people related to the appropriate use and serious health hazards of hand sanitizer. During the pandemic lockdown, the decreased availability of alcoholic beverages made a major impact on many lives. People tend to consume alcohol based hand sanitizers in various regions, which are serious concern. Consumption of alcohol based hand sanitizers can lead to serious health hazards and even poisoning. The governing bodies need to update guidelines regarding restriction on number of times to be used on the daily basis and plays an important role in the global pandemic of Covid-19 infection. Keywords: Hand Sanitizers, Hand Hygiene, Covid-19, Public Health, Hand Rub, Antiseptics, Precaution. QUICK RESPONSE CODE → DOI: 10.47583/ijpsrr.2021.v66i01.017 DOI link: http://dx.doi.org/10.47583/ijpsrr.2021.v66i01.017 INTRODUCTION icrobes like bacteria, virus and fungi can spread through various modes including sneezing and coughing which usually travels as aerosolized particles. The microorganism having the size less than 5 micron can travels through air current from an infected person to the normal host. Most of infection, which affects upper airway and tend to cause inflammation of nose, throat, sinus and lungs spreads through aerosolized particles. Infections that can spread via air are as follows: Chickenpox, Influenza, Measles, Smallpox, Cryptococcosis, Tuberculosis and covid-19. 1 Since the hands are more prone to come in contact with such airborne particles which contain pathogens, it is important to maintain hand hygiene. In addition to hand hygiene, social distancing is also one of the important recommendations from World Health Organisation (WHO) to fight against covid-19. 2 Different methods used for hand hygiene practices: There are several methods employed for hand hygiene, which include hand washing, hand cleansing and hygienic hand rubs. During Covid-19, most of the people rely on hand sanitizers for hand hygiene. According to WHO hand washing is defined as “Washing hands with plain or antimicrobial soap and water”. 3 It is found that hand washing can reduce the chances of diarrheal infection by 23%, upper respiratory tract infection by 51%. 4 However, hand washing is very simple and one of the effective interventions in hand hygiene. WHO defines hand cleansing as “Action of performing hand hygiene for the purpose of physically or mechanically removing dirt, organic material, and/or microorganisms.” 3 Whereas the definition of hand rubs by WHO is “Treatment of hands with an antiseptic hand rub to reduce the transient flora without necessarily affecting the resident skin flora. These preparations are broad spectrum and fast-acting and persistent activity is not necessary. 3 A study suggested that in vitro and in vivo testing of alcohol based hand sanitizers formulations are highly effective against bacterial pathogens and can produce 3.5-log reduction on hands within 30 sec and 4.0 to 5.0 log reduction in 1 min against wide range of bacterial species. 5 A study also shown that alcohol based hand sanitizers have potential antiviral activity against remerging pathogens like severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Ebola virus, Zika virus (ZIKV) and several enveloped virus. 6 The marketing and the revenue from the hand sanitizers is growing tremendously from past few years globally, which is valued at $919 million in 2016 and to reach 1,755$ million by 2023. This sudden increased demand of hand sanitizer is due to the importance of hand hygiene during the time of covid-19 pandemic recommended by WHO. 7 Hand sanitizers are widely used in various sectors, which includes healthcare sectors like hospitals, primary health Hand Sanitizer: A Comprehensive Narrative Review M Review Article