Have you ever wondered how hand sanitizer works to keep us safe from germs? Let’s dive into this interesting topic and find out!
Germs are tiny creatures that are so small, we can’t see them without a special tool called a microscope. There are different types of germs, like bacteria and viruses. Some bacteria are helpful, but others can make us sick, like the ones that cause strep throat. Viruses can also make us sick, like the flu virus.
A long time ago, people didn’t know germs existed. It wasn’t until the 1600s when a scientist named Antonie van Leeuwenhoek invented the first microscope. He looked at a drop of pond water and saw tiny things swimming around, which he called “little animals.” Later, scientists discovered these were germs.
Hand sanitizer is a handy tool to kill germs when we don’t have soap and water. But how does it work? The secret is in a substance called alcohol. Hand sanitizer is mostly made of alcohol, which has a special power to dry things out.
When you rub hand sanitizer on your hands, the alcohol dries up the oils on your skin, making your hands feel dry. At the same time, it dries out the germs, breaking open their outer layer and killing them instantly.
Hand sanitizer is great for killing germs, but it doesn’t remove dirt. If your hands are dirty, it’s best to wash them with soap and water. Washing with soap and water also helps wash away germs. If you have sensitive skin or don’t like your hands feeling dry, washing with soap and water is a good option.
Doctors recommend using hand sanitizer when you can’t wash your hands with soap and water. This helps stop the spread of germs and keeps us healthy. Remember, there are many mysteries around us, so stay curious and keep learning!
Thanks for exploring this topic with me. Until next time, keep asking questions and discovering new things!
**Sanitized Transcript:**
(phone ringing) (sneezes) – Whoo, that was a real sneeze. I have a cold right now, but did you notice I sneezed into my elbow? That way I didn’t spread germs like if I had sneezed into my hands instead. Phew. Someone named Ellie has a question about germs. Let’s give her a call now. (phone ringing) Hi Ellie. – Hi Doug. I have a question for you. How does hand sanitizer kill germs? – That’s a great question. Whenever you’re sick and you sneeze, you’ve probably got lots of adults telling you to use hand sanitizer. You’re always told it kills germs. It even says so on the bottle. But how does it work? How does hand sanitizer kill germs? After all, when you rub hand sanitizer on your hands, it’s not like you can see it working. Germs are too small to be seen. In fact, for a long time, doctors and scientists didn’t even know that germs existed. They tried all sorts of things to stop sicknesses from spreading. But without knowing about germs, that was really hard to do. The first big step forward was the invention of the microscope. The very first microscope was invented in the 1600s by someone named Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. Now, you might notice how it didn’t look much like the microscopes we have today. But having a microscope meant it was the first time that we could see things as small as germs. Van Leeuwenhoek took his first microscope and placed a drop of pond water on the lens. He was amazed by what he saw. It looked like this. You see all those little things swimming around? He called them little animals. He still didn’t know that some of these little things could cause people to get sick. Eventually though, other scientists figured out that these little animals aren’t animals at all. They’re germs. As microscopes have gotten better, we’ve discovered that there are all different kinds of germs. Some germs are really weird looking, like this one called an ‘amoeba’. It’s like this microscopic blob that moves around. But one of the most common germs looks like this. They’re called bacteria. Personally, I always thought they kind of looked like little hot dogs. Not all bacteria make you sick. Some of them aren’t bad at all. But if you’ve ever had strep throat, that’s a sickness caused by a type of bacteria. This is what strep bacteria looks like under a microscope. Here’s another common germ. It’s known as a virus. Just like bacteria, there are lots of different kinds of viruses. The virus on the left is the one that causes the flu. But not all viruses look like that. The ones on the right here, to me, almost look like little alien robots. It’s so easy for us to carry around these microscopic bacteria and viruses all over our hands without even knowing it. Scientists realize that if we could discover ways to kill or remove some of these germs, then we could stop sickness from spreading. Hand sanitizer is one of the ways that we can kill germs. But how does it work? Well, how do you think hand sanitizer kills germs? Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss. Here’s a clue, think about how your hands feel after you’ve used it. Especially if you use it a lot. Okay, you ready? Well, you might have noticed that when you use hand sanitizer, especially if you use it a lot, it can leave your hands feeling really dry. That’s because hand sanitizer is mostly made of a substance called ‘alcohol’. Alcohol is a substance with many interesting properties. One of these properties is that alcohol is really good at drying things out. Alcohol dries up the oils on your skin, which is what makes your hands feel dry. But while it’s doing that, it’s also drying up the germs on your skin. When germs get dried out, their outer layer gets broken open, instantly killing the germ. Now keep in mind, if your hands actually have dirt on them, using hand sanitizer isn’t going to get the dirt off. For that, you still need to wash your hands with soap and water. Plus, washing your hands with soap and water also washes germs away. So if you have sensitive skin or you just don’t want your hands to feel dried out, you can wash your hands instead of using hand sanitizer. So in summary, hand sanitizer kills germs because it’s mostly made of alcohol. And alcohol can break open the outer layer of germs like bacteria or viruses. Doctors recommend using hand sanitizer whenever you don’t have soap and water to wash your hands, so that you can keep from spreading germs. That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks Ellie for asking it. Now, for the next episode, I reached into my question jar and found three questions submitted to me that I’m thinking about answering. When this video’s done playing, you’ll get to vote on what. You can choose from, why do we wear green on St. Patrick’s Day? How is a rainbow made? Or what makes a four-leaf clover so lucky? So submit your vote when the video’s over. I want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious and see you next week.
