![handwashing with bar soap](https://images.medicinenet.com/images/article/main_image/does-bar-soap-kill-germs.jpg?output-quality=75)
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), both bar soap and liquid soap can be used to wash your hands effectively. Bar soaps contain alkaline compounds that can kill germs by damaging the cell walls of bacteria.
Studies also show that there is no difference in effectiveness between antibacterial soap and plain soap; both can help prevent you from getting sick.
How does handwashing with soap and water remove germs and chemicals?
When you work soap and water into a lather, it traps germs and chemicals and removes them from your hands. Wetting your hands with clean water before applying soap can help you work up a better lather, which forms pockets (micelles) that trap germs from your hands. Then when you rinse your hands, these germs are washed away.
Scrubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds is important to this process because the action helps to physically destroy the germs and remove them from your skin.
How does hand hygiene help prevent infections?
Good hand hygiene helps prevent infections by stopping the spread of germs:
- Touching your eyes, mouth and nose with unwashed hands introduces germs into your body.
- Preparing or eating food with unwashed hands causes germs to grow in some types of foods and make people sick.
- Germs can transfer from unwashed hands to doorknobs, tables or toys, causing other people who touch these items to get sick.
What is the right way to wash your hands?
Washing your hands correctly is especially important in light of the pandemic. Follow these steps:
- Wet your hands with clean running water, either warm or cold.
- Apply soap and lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap.
- Rub all surfaces of your hands, including the palms, backs, fingers, between your fingers and under your nails.
- Keep scrubbing for at least 20 seconds. Hum the “Happy Birthday” song twice to help you time this.
- Rinse your hands well with clean, running water.
- Dry your hands with a clean towel or air-dry them.
How often should you wash your hands?
How often you should wash your hands depends entirely on your activities. CDC recommends washing them:
- Before, during and after preparing food
- Before eating food
- Before and after caring for someone who is sick
- Before and after treating a cut or wound
- After using the bathroom, changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the bathroom
- After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
- After touching an animal or animal food, or treating animal cages or dealing with animal stools
- After touching garbage
- If your hands are visibly dirty or greasy
Avoid overdoing it. Our hands aren’t meant to be sterile, and having some bacteria on the skin is perfectly fine. Washing your hands too frequently may damage your skin, worsen cuts or cause cracks.
![](https://images.medicinenet.com/images/quiz/human-body/human-body-s1.jpg)
QUESTION
What percentage of the human body is water? See Answercdc.gov/handwashing/pdf/handwashing-poster.pdf
Top Does Bar Soap Kill Germs? Related Articles
Hidden Places Where Germs Lurk
Explore the germiest places you may encounter daily. Bacteria is everywhere. Learn tips to avoid germs and bacteria in public places.Cold, Flu, & Cough: How to Clean After Illness
This slideshow gives you a room-by-room look at how and what to disinfect after someone in your family has been sick.Common Medical Abbreviations & Terms
Doctors, pharmacists, and other health-care professionals use abbreviations, acronyms, and other terminology for instructions and information in regard to a patient's health condition, prescription drugs they are to take, or medical procedures that have been ordered. There is no approved this list of common medical abbreviations, acronyms, and terminology used by doctors and other health- care professionals. You can use this list of medical abbreviations and acronyms written by our doctors the next time you can't understand what is on your prescription package, blood test results, or medical procedure orders. Examples include:
- ANED: Alive no evidence of disease. The patient arrived in the ER alive with no evidence of disease.
- ARF: Acute renal (kidney) failure
- cap: Capsule.
- CPAP: Continuous positive airway pressure. A treatment for sleep apnea.
- DJD: Degenerative joint disease. Another term for osteoarthritis.
- DM: Diabetes mellitus. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes
- HA: Headache
- IBD: Inflammatory bowel disease. A name for two disorders of the gastrointestinal (BI) tract, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
- JT: Joint
- N/V: Nausea or vomiting.
- p.o.: By mouth. From the Latin terminology per os.
- q.i.d.: Four times daily. As in taking a medicine four times daily.
- RA: Rheumatoid arthritis
- SOB: Shortness of breath.
- T: Temperature. Temperature is recorded as part of the physical examination. It is one of the "vital signs."
Is It Contagious Quiz
Is it contagious? Take this quiz to learn about contagious diseases, how contagious diseases are spread, and myths and facts about contagions.Coronavirus COVID-19 Prevention: Test Your Medical IQ
What's really the best way to prevent the spread of new coronavirus COVID-19? Should wear a mask or not? Take this quiz to find out!COVID-19 (Coronavirus): Mask Mistakes You're Making Now
You're wearing your mask every time you leave home. But could you be making simple mistakes that make your mask less effective? Find out the most common errors that can leave you unprotected and simple ways to fix them.Flu Vaccine (Flu Shot)
Every year in the United States, on average, 5%-20% of the population gets the flu, more than 500,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and about 34,000 people die from flu. The flu is highly infectious and is a serious viral respiratory infection. Flu vaccine is an inactivated vaccine, meaning that it contains killed influenza virus. Anyone who wishes to reduce their risk of getting the flu can be vaccinated, however the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people who are at risk for serious complications from the flu be vaccinated each year.How Do the COVID-19 Coronavirus Tests Work?
Tests used for detection of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) may use two methods to detect SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cause of COVID-19 disease, a debilitating and potentially deadly viral pneumonia. Genomic or molecular detection confirms the presence of viral DNA. The immunoglobulin or serology tests can tell whether or not you have been exposed to coronavirus, but not whether you are currently infected. Both tests administered in tandem can give you your complete COVID-19 infection status.How Long Are You Contagious With the Flu?
The flu is contagious 1-2 days before symptoms start and up to 5-7 days after symptoms have developed. Young children and people who have weak immune systems may be contagious for longer.How Long Is a Cold or Flu Contagious?
Viruses cause the common cold and the flu. Early symptoms and signs for a cold and the flu are similar, however, flu symptoms are typically more severe than cold symptoms. Cold and flu viruses are transmitted typically via coughing or sneezing.How Long Is a COVID-19 Patient Contagious?
People infected with COVID-19 can still be contagious even when they stop feeling sick, so precautionary measures should continue for at least 2 weeks after symptoms disappear and until the COVID-19 test result is negative. Ideally, patients should be quarantined at home or an institution for 2 weeks after the symptoms completely disappear.Infectious Germs: Where Germs Love to Hide
What surfaces in your home or office do germs like bacteria and viruses including COVID-19 use to hide? What's the best way to kill germs on your hands or in your workplace? Learn about germy cell phones, sink sponges, puppy kisses, cash money, keyboards, laptops, office lounges, light switches, and other germ hiding places.Flu (Influenza)
Influenza (flu) is a respiratory illness caused by a virus. Flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches. The flu may be prevented with an annual influenza vaccination.Is a Cough Contagious?
There are many types of coughs, such as dry cough, wet cough, barking cough, whooping cough, stress-induced cough, acute cough, and chronic cough. A cough is a symptom of an underlying condition or disease. Treatment of cough as a symptom is generally with OTC lozenges and liquids. The cause of the cough will be necessary to treat.Tests Available for COVID-19
Getting tested for COVID-19 can identify you as a positive or negative patient of the disease. Remember no test is 100% accurate. Different methods of testing have been launched to trace COVID-19 infection.Why Is Personal Hygiene Important? 8 Types
Personal hygiene is important because it helps to ward off pesky infections that spread through contacts and make our appearance pleasant. By maintaining personal hygiene, you can look fresh, stay healthy, and be a welcome addition to any social gathering or place.