Ethyl Alcohol vs. Isopropyl Alcohol: Uses and Effectiveness

Ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol, is the most well-known alcohol. It's the type of alcohol people consume in alcoholic beverages. HealthConditionsDiscoverPlanConnectShopSubscribeNutritionHealthyEatingMealPrepVitamins&SupplementsLifestyleDietsWeightManagementConditionsProductsWhat’stheDifferenceBetweenEthylandIsopropylAlcohol?MedicallyreviewedbyFemiAremu,PharmD—WrittenbyDanielYetmanonAugust26,2021DifferencesincompositionInhandsanitizerAsdisinfectantsOtherdifferencesSolutionsvs.100%alcoholHowdoesalcoholwork?SummaryShareonPinterestGettyImages/valentinrussanovIfyoulookatthebackofyourbottleofhandsanitizer,you’lllikelyseeethylorisopropylalcohollistedintheingredients.Bothtypesofalcoholcanbeeffectiveatkillinggermsandareusedinhealthcareasdisinfectantsandantiseptics.Studieshavefoundthatbothalcoholsaremosteffectiveatkillinggermswhenthey’redilutedwithwatertoabout70percent.Whenbuyingahandsanitizer,youshouldcheckthelabeltomakesureitcontainsaminimumof60percentofeithertypeofalcohol.Youmayalsoseeethylalcohollistedasethanolorsimply“alcohol.”Isopropylalcoholcanalsoappearas“2-propanol”onlabels.Keepreadingtolearnhowethylandisopropylalcoholdifferandwhichoneismoreeffective.Isethylalcoholthesameasisopropylalcohol?Ethylandisopropylalcoholaresimilarmolecularlybuthavedifferentchemicalstructures.Inchemistry,thedefinitionofalcoholisanorganicmoleculethatcontainsahydroxylgroupbondedtoasaturatedcarbonatom.Ahydroxylgroupisanoxygenmoleculebondedwithhydrogen,writtenas-OH.EthylalcoholEthylalcohol,alsoknownasethanol,isthemostwell-knownalcohol.It’sthetypeofalcoholpeopleconsumeinalcoholicbeverages.ThechemicalstructureofethanolisC2H5OH.Ethylalcoholisnaturallyproducedbyyeastswhentheyfermentsugars.Aswellasbeingconsumedinbeverages,it’susedmedicallyasanantisepticanddisinfectant.Ethylalcoholisacommonadditiontomotorfuels.Morethan98percentofgasolineintheUnitedStatescontainsethylalcohol.IsopropylalcoholIsopropylalcoholisalsocommonlycalled“rubbingalcohol.”Itsmolecularstructurecontainsonemorecarbonandtwomorehydrogenmoleculesthanethylalcohol.ItsformulaiswrittenasC3H7OH.Likeethanol,it’scommonlyusedasanantisepticanddisinfectant.It’salsofoundinlotions,cosmetics,andfacewashes.Ethylvs.isopropylalcoholinhandsanitizerTheCDCrecommendschoosingahandsanitizerthatcontainsatleast60percentethylorisopropanolalcoholandavoidingproductsthatcontainlessthan60percent.Bothtypesofalcoholcankillbacteria,viruses,andothergermsthatcanmakeyousick.Ethylalcoholiseffectiveatkillingalargerangeofviruses,butthisdoesn’tincludehepatitisAorpoliovirus.Isopropylalcoholisn’taseffectiveagainstaclassofvirusescallednonenvelopedvirusesbutiseffectiveatkillingenvelopedviruses.ThevirusthatcausesCOVID-19isanenvelopedvirus.Bothtypesofalcoholareeffectiveatkillingit,butethylmaybemoreeffective.Ethylvs.isopropylalcoholforskinhealthA2017studycomparedtheeffectsofthreetypesofalcoholonskinhealth.Theresearchersfoundthatisopropylalcoholandn-propanolcausedsignificantdamagetoskinconditionandfunction,butethylalcoholdidn’t.Theyconcludedthatethanolisthebestalcoholtoapplytoyourskin,especiallyifyouuseitfrequently.Shouldyouuseethylorisopropylalcoholforbabiesandchildren?Handsanitizerscontainingisopropyl,orethylalcoholaren’tdangerousforchildrenorbabieswhenusedcorrectly.Butdrinkingevensmallamountscanleadtoalcoholpoisoning,sotheFDArecommendsonlygivingthemtochildrenunder6withadultsupervision.TheFDAalsonotesthatthere’snoneedtobeconcernedifyourchildlickstheirhandsoreatswiththeirhandsafterapplyinghandsanitizer.Ethylvs.isopropylalcoholasahomecleaningproductAccordingtotheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO),ethylisgenerallyconsideredsuperiortoisopropylalcohol,butbothtypesofalcoholareeffectiveatkillingfluandcoldviruses.A2021studypublishedinTheJournalofHospitalInfectionfoundthatisopropylorethylalcoholinconcentrationsof62to80percentwasveryefficientatdisinfectingsurfacesfromthevirusthatcausesCOVID-19.OtherdifferencesbetweenethylalcoholandisopropylalcoholEthylalcoholissafeforconsumptioninsmallamountswhenit’sconsumedinalcoholicbeverages.Butalcoholislinkedtonumerousnegativehealtheffectsandover-consumingethylcanleadtoalcoholpoisoning.Drinkingisopropylalcoholisextremelydangerousandcaneasilyleadtoalcoholpoisoning.It’sabouttwiceaspotentasethylalcohol.It’sestimatedthatabout250milliliters(8.5fluidounces)islethaltohumans.Insomecases,aslittleas100milliliters(3.4fluidounces)canbefatal.What’sthemosteffectivealcoholconcentrationsolution?Aconcentrationofabout70percentisopropanolorethylalcoholismosteffectiveforkillinggerms.Ingeneral,solutionswith60to90percentwatertendtobemoreeffectiveatkillingvirusesthansolutionswithconcentrationsoutsidethisrange.Weakerconcentrationsarenoticeablylesseffectivebecauselessalcoholcomesintocontactwithgerms.Strongerconcentrationsmaybelesseffectivebecausethere’snotenoughwater.Waterisneededtoincreasecontacttimewithvirusesandslowdownevaporation.Whydoesalcoholworkasanantisepticanddisinfectant?Alcoholdestroysgermsbybreakingdownfatsandproteinsthattheyneedtosurvive.Theexactmechanismofisopropylalcohol’sabilitytobreakdowngermsisn’tknown,butit’sthoughttobreakdownproteinsandtheDNAthatviruses,bacteria,andothergermsneedtosurvive.It’salsothoughttodissolvethefatandproteinthatmakeuptheirprotectiveoutermembrane.Ethanolkillsgermsinasimilarway,bybreakingdowntheiressentialfatsandproteinstheyneedtosurvive.TakeawayEthylalcoholandisopropylalcoholarecommonlyusedasdisinfectantsandantiseptics.Bothalcoholsareeffectiveatkillinggermswhenusedinconcentrationsover60percent,butthere’ssomeevidencethatethylalcoholislessdamagingtoyourskin.It’sextremelydangeroustodrinkproductscontainingeithertypeofalcoholthataren’tmeantforhumanconsumption.Ifyourchilddrinkshandsanitizer,youshouldseekimmediatemedicalattention.LastmedicallyreviewedonAugust26,202110sourcescollapsedHealthlinehasstrictsourcingguidelinesandreliesonpeer-reviewedstudies,academicresearchinstitutions,andmedicalassociations.Weavoidusingtertiaryreferences.Youcanlearnmoreabouthowweensureourcontentisaccurateandcurrentbyreadingoureditorialpolicy.CartnerT,etal.(2017).Effectofdifferentalcoholsonstratumcorneumkallikrein5andphospholipaseA2 togetherwithepidermalkeratinocytesandskinirritation.doi.org/10.1111/ics.12364Ethanolfuelbasics.(n.d.).afdc.energy.gov/fuels/ethanol_fuel_basics.htmlHowtoselectandusehandsanitizer.(2020).cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/hand-sanitizer.htmlInfectionpreventionandcontrolofepidemic-andpandemic-proneacuterespiratoryinfectionsinhealthcare.(2014).ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK214356/Isopropylalcohol.(2021).pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Isopropyl-alcoholKampfG.(2018).Efficacyofethanolagainstvirusesinhanddisinfection.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7132458/KochgawayL,etal.(2020).COVIDcasualty:Bilateralblindnessduetoingestionofspurioussanitizer.doi.org/10.4103/ojo.OJO_277_2020MeyersC,etal.(2021).Ethanolandisopropanolinactivationofhumancoronavirusonhardsurfaces.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.09.026Q&AforConsumers|HandsanitizersandCOVID-19.(2020).fda.gov/drugs/information-drug-class/qa-consumers-hand-sanitizers-and-covid-19Seriousadversehealthevents,includingdeath,associatedwithingestingalcohol-basedhandsanitizerscontainingmethanol—ArizonaandNewMexico,May–June2020.(2020).cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932e1.htmFEEDBACK:MedicallyreviewedbyFemiAremu,PharmD—WrittenbyDanielYetmanonAugust26,2021ReadthisnextWhatAretheSideEffectsofUsingHandSanitizer?MedicallyreviewedbyDeborahWeatherspoon,Ph.D.,R.N.,CRNAHandsanitizerhasprovenitselfusefulinkillinggerms,butusingitcanhavesideeffects.Here’swhatyouneedtoknow.READMORECanISafelyUseExpiredHandSanitizer?MedicallyreviewedbyDebraRoseWilson,Ph.D.,MSN,R.N.,IBCLC,AHN-BC,CHTHandsanitizerdoesexpire,butit’snotdangeroustouseaftertheexpirationdate.Learnwhattheexpirationdatemeans,safety,andmore.READMORERubbingAlcoholvs.HydrogenPeroxideforKillingGermsMedicallyreviewedbyDeborahWeatherspoon,Ph.D.,R.N.,CRNARubbingalcoholandhydrogenperoxidearetwocommondisinfectants.Theireffectivenesscanvarydependingonhowyouusethemandthetypesofgerms…READMORE26UsesforRubbingAlcohol,PlusWhatYouShouldn’tUseItForMedicallyreviewedbyDebraRoseWilson,Ph.D.,MSN,R.N.,IBCLC,AHN-BC,CHTRubbingorisopropylalcoholisacommonandsurprisinglyversatilehouseholditem.Fromcleaningyourblindstogettingoutpeskypermanentmarker…READMOREHowtoMakeYourOwnHandSanitizerMedicallyreviewedbyDeborahWeatherspoon,Ph.D.,R.N.,CRNAAlcohol-basedhandsanitizerscanhelpkeepyousafeandreducethespreadofgermsifsoapandwateraren'tavailable.It'salsoeffectiveagainst…READMOREResearchersDetailtheHealthDangersfromAmericans’ExposuretoLeadExpertssaytheconstantexposuretoleadintheUnitedStatesinthe20thcenturyhascausedareductioninIQscoresandhasimpactedhearthealth.READMOREHowCanIGetRidofMySmileLines?MedicallyreviewedbyCynthiaCobb,DNP,APRN,WHNP-BC,FAANPAsyouage,smilelinesmaybeinevitable.However,youhavemanyoptionstohelpgetridofthem.READMOREWhatYouCanDoBeforeDaylightSavingTimetoHelpYourBodyAdjustExpertssayslowlyadjustingyourbedtimeaswellasdecreasingyourcaffeineintaketheweekbeforechangingyourclockscanhelpeasethetransition.READMOREAt-HomeHepatitisCScreening:WhatAretheOptions?IfyouthinkyoumayhavehepatitisC,it'sbesttocheckinwithyourdoctor.Butifyouneedtotestfromhome,hereare5ofthebesttestingkits.READMOREVitageneReview:EverythingYouNeedtoKnowBeforeBuyingTheirTestsMedicallyreviewedbyDeborahWeatherspoon,Ph.D.,R.N.,CRNAVitageneoffersavarietyofat-homehealthandwellnesstestkits,includingaDNAtest.WetakeadeepdiveintowhatsetsVitagenetestsapartfrom…READMORE