Do you wash your hands every time you go to the bathroom? How about before handling food? Be honest. The Australian Food Safety Information Council has published its on the country’s handwashing habits. It found that 19 per cent of Australians do not wash their hands every time they go to the toilet. Nearly half (42 percent) admit they don’t always wash their hands before handling food.
So who does well when it comes to hand hygiene and who doesn’t, and why is it important?
What did the report find?
The new report surveyed the handwashing practices of 1,229 people. The results were consistent with what we learned from .
Once again, women do better than men at washing their hands after using the bathroom, although only slightly (80 percent of men say they always do it, compared to 83 percent Women’s). Only 55 percent of men wash their hands before touching food, compared to 62 percent of women.
Age also seemed to make a difference. Those under 34 years old, 69 percent of people washed their hands every time they went to the bathroom. Over 65 years, that figure rose to 86 percent.
While some of these differences are not entirely unexpected, such as the gap between men’s and women’s handwashing habits, the reasons remain unclear.
Why don’t people wash their hands?
Public health messages often focus on how to wash your hands properly. However, there is less research examining the extent to which people actually adopt these practices. And to understand why, if you skip the soap and water, those messages may not be getting through effectively.In a study conducted in India on this issue, schoolchildren were asked about barriers to handwashing. The vast majority (91 percent) had a low “disease risk perception.” In other words, they simply did not perceive the risk of getting sick from not washing their hands after using the bathroom.
Interestingly, the inability to see germs with your own eyes was one of the biggest barriers, according to 46 percent of children. However, 72 percent said they would wash their hands if their friends did.
The survey found that young people were less likely to have clean hands when leaving the bathroom. Source: Getty / Majority World/Universal Images
It’s tempting to speculate that these reasons may also apply to other age groups, but we simply haven’t done enough research to know. The reasons why people wash their hands, or not, are likely to vary throughout their lives and depending on their circumstances.
What are the risks?
Urine and feces contain millions of germs, especially feces, which have more than 100 billion germs per gram. When you go to the bathroom and touch bathroom surfaces, you will pick up germs. People who skip washing their hands when they leave take those germs with them when they leave and deposit them on every surface they touch afterward.
You may not get sick, but you are increasing the spread of bacteria. This can increase the risk of infection and disease for other people, including those who have a weakened immune system, such as older people, and those undergoing common forms of cancer treatment.
It is also important to wash your hands before cooking and eating. In this case, the risk goes both ways. If you have disease-causing germs on your hands (perhaps because you didn’t wash them after using the bathroom), you can transfer them to your food, where they can multiply and even produce toxins. People who eat the food can then become ill, often causing vomiting and diarrhea.
On the other hand, some foods naturally carry germs before they are cooked, such as salmonella and campylobacter bacteria found in raw poultry. If you don’t wash your hands after handling these foods, you can transfer them to other surfaces and risk spreading an infection.
How should I wash my hands?
Follow these three simple tips to wash your hands correctly:
- Mojate hands and rub them well to form a good lather with soap for at least 20 seconds and don’t forget to wash between your fingers and under your nails. You may have to use a nail brush
- Enjuágate well with running water to remove bugs from your hands
- Secate Wash your hands with a clean towel for at least 20 seconds. Touching surfaces with wet hands causes insects to spread from the surface to your hands.
What about hand sanitizer?
If running water is not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. These quickly inactivate a wide range of germs, making them no longer infectious. Hand sanitizers are effective against a wide range of bacteria and viruses that can cause many common gastrointestinal and respiratory infections.
However, if your hands are dirty with organic matter (such as blood, feces, meat, sand, or dirt), they will not be effective. In that case, you should wash your hands with soap and water.
The final result
Washing your hands is a little like putting on your seat belt: you do it every time you get in a car, not just on days you “plan” to be involved in an accident. The bottom line is that washing your hands is a quick and easy intervention that benefits you and those around you, but only if you do it.
*Christine Carson is a senior researcher at the School of Medicine at the University of Western Australia.
