Answer to Question #4163 in Microbiology for Alfred

Question

I was wondering if there's a way I can kill every germ (including "super-bugs") on my hand? And if so, how I can do it? And if not, why not? One microbiologist said I can kill every germ on my hand, by lathering my hands in soap, rinsing them with warm water, re-lathering them in soap, rinsing them with warm water again, wiping them dry, and then rubbing them vigorously with hand sanitizer. I was wondering, is that really true?

Answer 1

I do not think that you can really kill all germs with the
procedure
described. You see, that procedure intended to clean hands,
not to kill
germs (soap, water and even sanitizer are not harmful to
many bacterias and
viruses). Thus, the hands will be very clean, this is
true (because you wash
germs out), but some germs will remain in deep
layers of skin. If you want
to KILL (not wash out) germs on hands, you
should use another methods, like
heating hands up to 200-300C, or
washing them with strong acid or oxidizing
agent. But the hands will be
destroyed too..
In general, resistance of
germs is much, much bigger than resistance of
your hands, thus, you cannot
kill germs without destroying your hands...