How to Wash Your Hands Properly
Should I wash my hands or use hand sanitiser?
If you have the option to wash your hands, research suggests this is the recommended solution for best hand hygeine. In a new study published by mSphere, researchers found that hand-washing under running water removed the flu virus from hands faster than did a dab of alcohol sanitizer, as previous studies have suggested.
There have been other studies that suggest hand-washing is the superior method against germs, but the results are not easily applicable to real-world scenarios. The study compared putting hand sanitizer on (without rubbing it in) to using running water and soap (while rubbing hands together)
How do I use hand sanitiser properly?
European researchers found that halving the recommended usage time of hand sanitizers may result in similar—if not improved—outcomes.
Such a change—reducing recommended usage from 30 to 15 seconds—also increases hand antisepsis compliance (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol).
How do I wash my hands properly?
This is an amazing video that shows how thoroughly you need to wash your hands to get adequate coverage.
Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) today discloses the shocking numbers of Brits who are falling behind on their hand washing.
Germs that cause food poisoning, pneumonia, colds and flu can easily be spread by touch. They can be picked up from contaminated surfaces, objects or people, and then passed on to others.
Surely everyone washes their hands properly?
- 2 in 3 people (65%) don’t always wash their hands before eating
- 1 in 2 people (50%) don’t always wash their hands after handling animals, such as pets
- 1 in 3 people (32%) don’t always wash their hands before preparing food
- 1 in 5 people (21%) don’t always wash their hands after going to the toilet
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... and surprise, surprise ... but a recent study in Ireland produced a 100% failure rate of handwashing amongst 16 year olds.
UK office cleaning company SMC Premier has surveyed over 5000 UK office workers about their hygiene habits at work. The results revealed that only 61% of respondents wash their hands properly with warm water and soap after using the toilet. 18% will do a quick hand wash, 14% occasionally wash their hands, and 7% admitted to not washing their hands.
Further resaerch has identified that one in six men aren’t washing their hands after having a poo at work
Nice to meet you,’ you say, reaching out your hand to a new colleague. ‘Can I get you a cuppa?’ you ask, collecting people’s mugs as you do a round of hot drinks at the office. But guess what, you’re not just being polite, you’re actually just contaminating everyone’s hands and mugs with your own poo-infested hands. That is if you are a male office worker (no, not all men, we know). Enlightening new research by YouGov found that one in six men don’t wash their hands after having a poo at work.
So is hand washing enough?
If done correctly, clean hands will reduce the spread of diseases.
If you want to be even more confident, bumping fists rather than shaking hands could reduce the spread of infectious diseases, according to researchers at Aberystwth University, following a series of tests on hand hygiene. According to the study, high doses of bugs were passed on during a handshake, but that was reduced by more than half during a high five and by 90% when bumping fists.
And finally...maybe you're the kind of person who thinks of washing your hands regularly as one of those rules from growing up that it's fine to break now that you're an adult. I mean, you chew with your mouth open sometimes now and it has yet to bring about the end times, right? So what harm could dirty hands really do?
