Gloves Come Off In Fight Against Dirty Hands

“Don’t forget to wash your hands.”

It’s more than just a mother’s mantra: Each year, an estimated 40 million Americans get sick from bacteria transmitted by dirty hands.

Now doctors in Massachusetts have taken off the gloves in their fight to get people to follow that advice. On Wednesday, they launched a two-year campaign featuring “Soapy” the cartoon soap bar.

Colds, flus, Hepatitis A, eye infections and dysentery are just some of the diseases easily transmitted with a handshake or a touch.

“It probably sounds incredibly boring to have someone say that by washing your hands you can prevent infection. But it’s true,” said Dr. Bela Matyas of the state Department of Public Health.

But washing your hands doesn’t mean passing them under running water.

“If you did it in 15 or 20 seconds, then you clearly didn’t spend enough time doing it,” said Matyas, suggesting 30 seconds to a minute is better.

Before announcing the program Wednesday, Massachusetts Medical Society officials sprinkled white powder - synthetic “germs” - on the hands of several observers. About half an hour later, ultraviolet lights highlighted traces of the powder everywhere - on clothes, pens, hair, chairs and faces.

“People don’t realize where their hands are going,” said Dr. Joseph Heyman, medical society president.

Hospital staff and restaurant workers are frequent culprits.

Last summer, 29 people contracted salmonella after eating at a restaurant outside Boston.

Restaurant employees are required to wash their hands after using the bathroom. But there’s only so much an employer can do.

“You can’t walk in and watch them,” said Ron Webber, manager of a downtown Boston restaurant. “You’ve got to trust them.”

Last year, researchers studying the bathroom habits of more than 6,000 men and women in five U.S. cities found that only 74 percent of women and 61 percent of men washed their hands.

“It’s frightening to recognize how many people don’t wash their hands even for something as obvious as going to the bathroom,” Matyas said.