Father and son using wash hand sanitizer gel pump dispenser

When it comes to preventing disease, washing hands with soap and water is still the best option, according to one recent report.

While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hand sanitizes are just as effective as washing one’s hand, they’re not as good as protecting the spread of certain diseases, reports Medical Daily. Hand sanitizers fail to slow the spread of nasty diseases like salmonella, e. Coli, MRSA and norovirus. Properly wash with old fashioned soap and water, on the other hand, and a person is well protected against such calamities.

Some healthcare experts are smitten with alcohol-based hand sanitizes. For example, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and the School Of Nursing recently said that hand sanitizes remain a strong tool in the fight against rising superbugs, which she blames on the use of antibiotics.

That same report citing the professor also states that there is no proof to the belief that using hand sanitizes habitually weakens one’s immune system.

Given all the recent opinions on hand sanitizers and hand washing with soap and water, it might be best for everyone to incorporate both into their hygiene routine.