Two in Three Men Don't Wash Hands after Toilet
Tell Husband, Sons that Hand Hygiene Decreases H1N1 Swine Flu Risk
Oct 19, 2009
What many women who live with men have suspected all along is now documented by a British study: the guys do skimp on soapy lather after a trip to the bathroom.
A study released on Global Handwashing Day, based 200,000 people, found that 64% of women but only 32% of men used soap after using the toilet. The study was conducted in England and published in the American Journal of Public Health, in a 2009 article entitled, "Experimental Pretesting of Hand-Washing Interventions in a Natural Setting" by Gaby Judah and Robert Aunger, among other researchers.
How often should people wash their hands? More often than one might think. But, there are tons of ideas for how to make handwashing fun for kids— and how adults can multitask while handwashing, too.
Misconception #1: Handwashing is Not About Removing Dirt
Often people believe that it's only important to wash hands if they look dirty. That's not the case.
Washing with soap is significantly more effective than washing with water alone. In other words, a quick rinse won't do the trick after going to the bathroom, petting the cat or dog, riding the commuter train, or coming in from the grocery store. Handwashing is one of the easiest ways to interrupt the transmission of disease. That applies to swine flu, the H1N1 virus, as well as the common cold.
Hands "pick up" invisible germs—pathogens—through direct human contact, such as shaking hands, or changing a child's diaper. Hands also pick up pathogens from surfaces, whether that's a countertop at the office kitchen, the supermarket, a public bus, or exercise equipment at the gym. In other words, if one's hands have touched contaminated surfaces, contaminated water, food, or even a dirty handkerchief, not to mention human or animal feces or bodily fluids, they may well be carrying pathogens.
"Global Handwashing Day" Focuses on Hand Hygiene
Handwashing might seem silly but it's important enough to have been recognized by the United Nations. The UN General Assembly designated 2008 the International Year of Sanitation, and Global Handwashing Day, October 15th, will echo and reinforce its call for improved hygiene practices.
According to the World Health Organization's Global Handwashing Day Website, "Although people around the world wash their hands with water, very few wash their hands with soap at critical moments (for example, after using the toilet, while cleaning a child, and before handling food)."
How Men (and Everyone) Should Wash Hands
It seems simple, but there's a preferred method for handwashing. It's as follows:
- Wet the front and back of the hands with water, and cover with soap
- Scrub the entire hand: palms, back, between fingers and especially under fingernails
- Keep washing for 20 seconds
- Rinse all the soap off with running water
- Dry in the air, or on a clean disposable paper toweling.
A Global Handwashing Guide is available online.
H1NI Swine Flu and Handwashing Hygiene
Good handwashing habits are crucial in flu season, because with a shortage of H1N1 vaccine, every preventive measure is that much more important. (As of October, 2009, vaccine production was running 25% behind schedule.) So, to stay healthy, everyone should take extra care to practice good hand hygiene. And that includes the guys, too.
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