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Review
. 2021 Apr;9(2):104754.
doi: 10.1016/j.jece.2020.104754. Epub 2020 Nov 11.

COVID-19: Eco-friendly hand hygiene for human and environmental safety

Achlesh Daverey  1 , Kasturi Dutta  2
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19: Eco-friendly hand hygiene for human and environmental safety

Achlesh Daverey et al. J Environ Chem Eng. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

The Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is caused by a highly pathogenic novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). To date, there is no prescribed medicine for COVID-19. Frequent handwashing with soap and the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers is recommended by WHO for hand hygiene and to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, there are safety concerns associated with the use of soaps and alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Therefore, the review aims to highlight the health and environmental concerns associated with the frequent use of soaps/detergents and alcohol-based hand sanitizers amid COVID-19. The potential of some of the natural detergents and sanitizing agents as eco-friendly alternatives to petrochemical-based soaps and alcohol-based hand rubs for hand hygiene are discussed. The market of soaps and hand sanitizers is expected to grow in the coming years and therefore, future research should be directed to develop eco-friendly soaps and hand sanitizers for human and environmental safety.

Keywords: Alcohol-based hand rub; Antimicrobial resistance; Biosurfactants; Chemical surfactants; Ecofriendly soaps; Hand sanitizers.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Hand hygiene by washing hands with soap and alcohol based hand sanitizers (modified from [25] under CC BY 4.0 License).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Simplified overview of the key points of using alcohol based, and ecofriendly nature based hand sanitizers and soaps for hand hygiene.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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