A hand sanitizer, antiseptic or disinfectant is an alternative to hand washing with soap and water. Hand sanitizers or disinfectants are more effective at killing germs and bacteria than soaps do. In areas where you can’t access water, a hand sanitizer will come in handy.Most women tend to shake hands with almost everybody they meet - both dirty and clean - yet there can’t be access to water everywhere you go. So it’s better to always move with a hand sanitizer in your handbag.Most of them are portable and can fit in your hand bag just like a hand lotion.Lambert Ingabire, a pharmacist at King Faisal Hospital, says that one can keep their hands clean and germ free if they have a hand sanitizer with them."Hand sanitizers are more effective in killing germs than plain water and soap. However, they are most helpful when you have no access to water. It’s one of those things everyone should have in their hand bag because you are likely to find yourself in a situation where you need to clean your hands but there’s no water and soap,” he said.He added that one can buy these from a shopping mall or even some pharmacies.The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and many other world public health authorities recommend alcohol hand sanitizers as an acceptable alternative to soap and water for hand hygiene when hands aren›t visibly dirty.Mayo Clinic recommends washing hands or sanitizing before preparing food, eating, treating wounds or giving medicine, touching a sick or injured person, inserting or removing contact lenses. After preparing food especially raw meat or poultry, using the toilet, changing diapers, touching an animal , blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing into your hands, treating wounds, touching a sick or injured person, handling garbage or cleaning soiled shoes, one should make use of the hand sanitizer according to Mayo Clinic .Hand sanitizers are very effective and not very costly as one could go for RWF 3,000 to 5,000.Just like a wallet, it’s one of those must-haves in your handbag.