Hand sanitisers need to be rubbed in for 15 SECONDS to kill bacteria lurking on your palms

Many of us rely on hand sanitiser to keep us 'germ free' at a festival, on the tube or while grabbing lunch on the go. But while most just rub a blob into their hand and carry on with their day, a study suggests the gels are only effective if thoroughly applied for 15 seconds. Although this may sound unnecessary, it is actually half as complicated as the World Health Organization's advice, which recommends applying hand sanitiser in a six-step, 30-second process. The research was carried out by University Hospital Basel and led by Dr Sarah Tschudin-Sutter, of the department of infectiology and hospital hygiene. Hand hygiene is the single most effective thing healthcare workers can do to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, the scientists claim. The WHO says sanitiser is the 'preferred route' due to it being 'faster, more effective and better tolerated than washing with soap and water'.