A hand sanitizer or hand antiseptic is a supplement or alternative to hand washing with soap and water. Various preparations are available, including gel, foam, and liquid solutions. The active ingredient in hand sanitizers may be isopropanol, ethanol, n-propanol, or povidone-iodine. Inactive ingredients in alcohol rubs typically include a thickening agent such as polyacrylic acid for alcohol gels, humectants such as glycerin for liquid rubs, propylene glycol, and essential oils of plants. Alcohol based hand sanitizers are more effective at killing germs than soaps and do not dry out hands as much. Popular alcohol rub brands include Purell, Germ-X, IC Gel, Hygel, Deb, Labo, Aqium, Avant, GermOut, and Aquawet. Lysol, and Method Products also produce popular alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
Common non-alcohol, rinse-free hand sanitizer brands use either small concentrations of the nitrogenous cationic surface-acting agent benzalkonium chloride or the chlorinated aromatic compound triclosan or povidone-iodine. These brands include Gold Bond Ultimate, MicroArmor, Hy5, Soapopular, SHBAN, and Handclens. Other non-alcohol sanitizer brands in the USA such as Cleanwell and StaSafe claim to kill germs naturally, although these claims are not substantiated in any FDA monograph. All hand sanitizer products require NDC designation in United States and NPN designation in Canada. Hand sanitizer is controlled as a biocide in Europe.