An Ounce of Prevention In Your Hands

Do you wash your hands after using a public rest room… after changing a diaper… before eating?

Chances are if you answer a telephone poll you will say you do because you know you should.

A study reported on in HealthDay News found that 85 percent of Americans wash their hands after using a public bathroom in 2010, compared with only 77 percent in 2007. The observational study was conducted at six locations in four cities.

A separate survey done by phone found that 96 percent of Americans said they always wash their hands after using public bathrooms. Sometimes what we say and what we do is at odds.

Amazingly, only 82 percent of respondents said they wash their hands after changing a diaper! Seventy-seven percent said they always wash their hands before eating. Most of us still don’t wash our hands after coughing or sneezing. Women rank higher than men in all categories.

It’s not only Americans who need to improve their hygiene. Last year, a study published by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that that less than one-third of men and two-thirds of women wash their hands with soap after using the restroom. Researchers studied the behavior of a quarter of a million people using restrooms in Britain and used sensors to monitor soap use.

With school back in session and cold and flu season upon us, this is a great time to remind ourselves and our children that hand washing is the simplest — and cheapest — way to avoid getting sick. This simple act helps prevent spread of the common cold, diarrheal diseases, respiratory infections, MRSA, food-borne illnesses such as salmonella and E. coli, and seasonal flu, among other things.

In the home, frequent hand washing, especially before and after food preparation, eating, diaper changing, coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose, and using the bathroom will help prevent germs from spreading among family members. It’s the best way to avoid getting sick!

In hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices, frequent hand washing can prevent deadly infections from spreading between health care workers and patients.

Next: There’s a right way and a wrong way to wash your hands…

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Mike V.

9:20AM PDT on Oct 23, 2010

just wash your hands, its easy

send a green star

Geetha S.

10:41AM PDT on Oct 12, 2010

Thanks for the posting.

Iti S.

10:44PM PDT on Oct 10, 2010

To me over protection from germs makes our immune system fragile and ill prepared for situations when one has got no option but to compromise. I never over indulged in hygiene and so must have fallen sick often in my childhood days. But as i grew i am so much less prone to catch virals, flu, cold n cough, stomach upsets etc.

Leisha A.

10:37AM PDT on Oct 4, 2010

Question: I've always wondered if, after washing/sanitizing, does the lotion I then apply to dried skin, from above activity,
reintroduce bacteria/germs? Help

jane r.

8:23AM PDT on Sep 30, 2010

Hand washing is essential.

Lika S.

11:24PM PDT on Sep 28, 2010

*shaking head* Seriously. There are people these days who don't wash their hands after using the toilet? Anyplace? That's just F-ing NASTY! Changing a diaper is the same as using the bathroom, you're just doing it for a helpless being rather than yourself.

Wash in warm water. Use soap. It doesn't matter what kind, any kind will do, it's the friction that make the germs fall off. Once scrubbing with soap, sing the "Happy Birthday Song" in your head. That should be about right... Keep your hands clean so you can be healthy on your next birthday...

Just remember, those outbreaks of poisoning where people throw up and get poopies in restaurants? It's always been one of three things. 1) The employee didn't wash their hands after using the bathroom then touched the food. 2) Employees touched raw meats then touched the salad. 3) Improper food storage made the food bad and you ate it. In other words, at least 2/3 or more of the times, if the employees washed their hands, your food would not have been infected with germs to make you sick.

You don't want your spouse or children to get sick do you? Well, wash your hands, wash them often, and don't cross contaminate. The fact that there are still 15%+ that don't scares me. I can't afford to be sick off of other people's mistakes.

Quanta K.

9:50PM PDT on Sep 28, 2010

I'm the resident germaphobe (at work and home) and wash my hands frequently. I always wash my hands after using the bathroom (I count using the happy birthday song) and always before eating food.

We unfortunately have a rule at work to hold onto the handrails when ascending or descending stairs. It always feels so grimy and I can't wait to wash my hands afterwards. Major ew!

Melissa K.

8:25AM PDT on Sep 27, 2010

I always wash my hands after using the bathroom and before handling food. I'm amazed at how many people say they are not "afraid" of germs and refuse to was hands prior to eating...yet jump up the second they are done to wash the food off their hands! They don't want to be "messy" but they don't care about eating germs!!

Niko O.

2:45AM PDT on Sep 27, 2010

I wash my hands (very thoroughly) a lot and sometimes apply sanitiser as a bonus clean-up afterwards. A good tip is to get one that smells nice too; it's a great little lift.
The mere thought of people not washing their hands after using the loo (let alone a public one) is absolutely shocking!

Dianne D.

5:25PM PDT on Sep 23, 2010

Although they say anti-bacterial wash isn't anymore effective, I carry it around in my car and use it before I go into a store and when I get back. I touch my face a lot more than I'm aware of and don't want someone else's germs.