Now it’s different; 99% is misinterpreted.

I thought I’d try something different and share with you all (or however many people actually read this) one of my pet peeves. Among many crimes, mainly acts of harm and abuse, and smoking, one of my biggest pet peeves is hand hygiene. Yes, I am another hand hygiene critic. I cringe at the sight of unwashed hands and demand those in my household (not meant to mean that I own my house…) to use soap and scrub vigorously! In this post, I will tell you a little about hand hygiene, the best methods and hopefully you’ll take the right approach to it.

According to Wikipedia, hand washing is the act of cleansing the hands with water or another liquid, with or without the use of soap or other detergents, for the sanitary purpose of removing soil and/or microorganisms. Now don’t get the wrong idea: this does not mean just running your hands under water for a couple of seconds is going to get your hands clean. There are steps to proper hand hygiene, but they are fairly simple and you’ve probably heard of them before.

Many debate over cold versus hot water. Which is the better option? Well, hot water is more effective at removing dirt, oils, et cetera, but it is not able to kill microorganisms. The best temperature to kill germs is 100°C, and obviously using that temperature is most definitely going to scald your hands. But hot water does help, so I suggest using it whenever you can. Soap. Yes, soap. It’s a wonderful thing that started to become more popular in the 18th and 19th century. It’s here, to keep our hands clear, get used to it! Well, to get our hands clean, anyway. People tend to also debate about the use of soap. Studies have shown that it isn’t actually that effective, due to previous germs left on a bar of soap. There are still other forms of soap dispensers and such, so I hope you take that into account. 60-90% alcohol rub hand sanitizers are probably the most efficient though, with 70% killing off 99.9% of the bacteria after only 30 seconds.

Another step is rubbing. Vigorously. The friction caused by rubbing your hands together plays a huge role in removing bacteria. If you simply run your hands under water, but you follow the other steps such as soap and hot water, only some of the germs are going to be removed. Also clean under your fingernails as they can carry a lot of bacteria. Allow at least 20 seconds of rubbing before rinsing it off. Try to avoid touching the tap, especially with your hands, as you just used your dirty hands to turn it on and doing so again to turn it off takes away the point in washing your hands. Afterwards, dry your hands by rubbing them with a hand towel or such if possible to remove any bad excess germs that may be present.

Poor hand hygiene seems rather miniscule. The results, however, can be devastating. Out of 76 million Americans that get a food-related illness, 5,000 die. It may seem a small to the amount of people who get an illness, but 5,000 DIE. From something that be prevented simply by proper hand hygiene. The food-related illnesses can be contracted by contact with others, ourselves even; by touching orifices and cuts. After a sneeze, the germs float around for about 10 minutes. Germs from a cold can survive on surfaces for over 20 minutes. Think about that. Hands should also be washed before cleaning, handling and eating food.

I hope I’ve turned your world upside down, and you stop and think about hand hygiene. If you get OCD, well, um, I hold no responsibility. Just don’t think about it that much. I’ve been down that road, and it’s really hard. That’s a story for another time.