H1N1 HandWashing — How Often? "Washable Moments"
Frequency of Handwashing to Reduce Risk of Swine and Other Flus
Sep 14, 2009
The beauty of hand washing is that it’s simple. It’s cheap. And, as a disease prevention measure, it works.
That's why President Obama stated, while standing in the Rose Garden a week before schools reopened, referring to the H1N1 virus, “We need everyone to take the common-sense steps that we know can make a difference….Wash your hands frequently.” Even The New York Times is writing about hand washing.
But nobody is specifying just how frequently to wash one's hands.
Recommended hand washing frequency depends on what one does--and touches. Nurses who come in contact with sick patients all day should wash their hands more often than a home-based worker.
The best advice is: wash one’s hands well, and often. For some people this might mean just a dozen times a day. For others, it could mean lathering up dozens of times before lunch.
"Washable Moments" to Reduce Risk of Contracting the Flu
Everyone’s heard of a “teachable moment.”
Enter the “washable moment," a precaution that's necessary for good hygiene and in response to the H1N1 scare and flu season in general.
When are Washable Moments? 12 to 20-plus Soapy Handwashes Every Day
To avoid illness, people must seize the moment, much as parents are urged to capitalize on "teachable moments" with children.
And those moments happen every day, all day long.
Just by doing a logical count, it seems that the average American (excluding food industry and health care workers), should be lathering up to the wrists at least 12 to 20 times, and possibly many more, every day.
- 7 to 12 Washable Moments: Post- Bathroom. According to medical research, the average adult male age 18 to 66 urinates on average 7 times every 24 hours, with a third going more frequently, and the average woman urinates between 7 times a day (with considerable variability in both genders). Washing after every use of the bathroom just for urinating alone adds up to between seven and twelve times a day.
- 3-5 Washable Moments: Before Eating a Meal. Most Americans eat three times a day. This translates into three hand washing opportunities.
- 1-2 Washable Moments: Before Handling Food at Home. Of course, it’s essential to wash one’s hands before handling food, before preparing a meal, before and after shopping for food, and before putting food away in the refrigerator or pantry. Most Americans frequently eat and cook at home. A pre-recession CBS poll conduced in 2005 found that most American households cook dinner at home most nights of the week; 43 percent cook six or seven nights per week. And, when handling poultry and raw meat and fish, additional hand washing is recommended.
- Extra Washable Moments with Kids. When bathing or feeding small children it's important to wash one’s hands. There are fun ways to help children learn the habit , like singing “Happy Birthday” or the ABC song twice while washing. Older kids can get involved in Global Hand Washing Day, October 15th. And there's always Halloween.
More Washable Moments: Snacks and Fast Food
It's important to wash hands before snacking-and before eating fast food, too.
- Snacks and Fast Food. The average child eats snack foods about 530 times per year; the average adult snacks on gum, fruit, candy and nuts about 430 times per year, according to NPD's SnackTrack(R).
- Fast Food: According to Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, “Every day about one quarter of the U.S. population eats fast food… and American children get about one quarter of their total vegetable servings in the form of potato chips and French fries.” McDonalds, he writes, “introduced a way to eat food without knives, forks or plates. Most fast foods can be eaten while steering the wheel of a car and the restaurants are usually drive through."
Do It Often, But Do It Well (meaning, with soap)
There’s a five-star way to wash one’s hands: Use warm water lather for 15 to 20 seconds, wash under fingernails, rinse well, and dry with a fresh, clean paper toweling that’s then discarded (or use an air dryer). If possible, use a paper towel to turn off the faucet.
And, use soap! WHO, along with various other organizers of Global Hand Washing Day notes, “Although people around the world wash their hands with water, very few wash their hands with soap at the critical occasions. More hand washing with soap means lower rates of infectious disease…”
People Over 50 Can Use Washable Moments for Other Health Goals
Boomers and their elders can get extra mileage out of a "washable moment" by combining it with other preventive heath measures.
Beyond Vaccine, Taking Responsibility
Recommendations of the frequency of hand-washing to reduce risk of contracting H1N1 and other influenzas varies from person to person, depending on circumstances. Often health recommendations come pre-packaged: the CDC recommends getting 7 to 9 hours sleep per night, and gym-goers can use a chart to determine their target heart rate during an aerobic work-out. But with flu prevention, it's up to everyone to seize the washable moment, and lather up.
"Washable Moments" TM Sept. 16,2009
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