Ever since H1N1 was officially declared a pandemic, we’ve been collecting information on hand washing and hygiene.
Why? Because “hand washing, when done correctly, is the most effective way to prevent the spread of communicable diseases,” says the Canada Safety Council.
It’s serious. Nevertheless, we are chastened to report discovery of a “yuk” factor in the course of sanitation research.
Because, while you and I wash our hands after every use of the bathroom, surveys indicate that others are not so diligent.
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A June survey by Harris Interactive, an American firm, found that 99 percent of those surveyed think other people don’t wash their hands each time and 48 percent said people wash their hands less than 50 percent of the time after using a washroom.
And a public washroom is as good a place as any to pick up the flu virus, along with various other unpleasant bacteria.
Besides the actual quantity of hand washing, there is a quality issue. Many food safety courses demonstrate technique by putting harmless colourless dye on the hands of course participants.
The people are then directed to go wash their hands and return to the classroom. Their hands are then exposed to ultraviolet light, which causes unwashed areas to glow green. Shoddy hand washing is uncovered.
The problem areas? Under fingernails, the areas between fingers, knuckles and the area near the wristwatch and other jewelry.
If the dye were full of dangerous flu viruses, these shoddy hand washers could spread it from doorknob to other hands, or from pillar to post, essentially.
Proper technique is to use soap and water, lather the hands and scrub for 15 to 20 seconds.
Once we started investigating sanitation, all kinds of things came to light. Not all are related to protection against H1N1, but they all make you stop and think.
The kitchen tap carries more harmful bacteria than the toilet handle in millions of homes, says London’s Daily Mail. The toilet handle was spotless in 75 percent of homes in a recent survey, while one-third of kitchen taps had unsatisfactory levels of harmful bacteria.
There are 400 times more viruses on the average desktop than the average toilet, says microbiologists Charles Gerba of the University of Arizona, quoted in the Washington Post.
Drying hands using paper towels is more hygienic than using hot air dryers or drip drying, says a survey by University of Westminster scientists. Warm air dryers of the type in public rest rooms can increase the average number of bacteria on your palms by up to 254 percent.
The moral of this story? Wash your hands and do it right!
