Focus on the Natural Protective Power of the Hands: New Hand Hygiene Practices

The history of humankind has also been called a constant battle against infections. In particular, upper-airway infections caused by such as influenza viruses or coronaviruses are easily spread from one person to the next. These have led to numerous pandemics, not least the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred in 2020, severely disrupting society and people’s everyday lives.

To prevent the transmission of infections, it is important to block multiple infection routes, namely contact infection, droplet infection, or aerosol infection. Hands present a particular risk, since we often touch our faces with our hands without noticing, and to continuously protect ourselves at the right time against viruses that are invisible to the eye is very difficult.

At Kao, we have started research focusing on hands, which play an important role in contact infections. The first discovery came from a chat between our researchers about how some people catch a cold very easily while others do not. We found that our hands have antimicrobial and antiviral properties, a feature we called the “hand barrier,” and chose it as the focus of our ongoing research.
Our results led to the discovery that people who are susceptible to infections and those who are not display a difference in lactic acid and pH, which are important factors for the hand barrier. These two factors are derived from sweat, so it could also be said that the hand barrier is based in the “power of sweat” that people naturally possess.

This research is taking place not only in-house but also in collaboration with external experts. Kao is working towards offering infection control measures that are not only highly effective but can also be used safely as a regular practice, so that people can live their lives with a smile on their face.