House Call: Hand-washing important step in disease prevention
Because most children now get the hepatitis B vaccine, we see fewer hepatitis outbreaks, but there are frequent outbreaks of other food-borne illnesses. Hand-washing is an important step to take to help prevent these illnesses.
The link between hand-washing and health is not new. It was first made in Vienna in the 1840s. When a doctor imposed a rule requiring maternity ward doctors to wash their hands with chlorine, the rate of death in the ward dropped. He had an uphill battle though. The other doctors did not like the idea that they might be to blame for some patient deaths.
It has taken nearly 200 years for hand-washing to be universally recognized as an excellent and simple way to dramatically curb the spread of disease. It is a great way to reduce your chances of getting or giving away a cold, the flu, food poisoning and other infectious diseases.
Wash your hands before preparing or eating food, inserting or removing your contact lenses, treating wounds, administering medicine or giving other kinds of care to a sick or injured person. There are even more things that you should wash your hands after doing:
When you wash your hands, lather them up with soap and water and then scrub for at least 20 seconds, about as long as it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” all the way through twice. Wash both sides up to your wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails. Rinse your hands under running water and dry them with a clean towel or let them air dry. If you can, turn off the faucet using the towel you dried your hands on.
Use liquid, powder or bar soap. If you favor bar soap, have a soap tray that drains well and allows the soap to dry between washings. You do not need antibacterial soap to protect yourself from germs. I personally prefer plain soap. A 2007 study in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases found no evidence to suggest that antibacterial soaps available to the general public are more effective than plain soap. The FDA is currently re-evaluating its advice on the use of antibacterial soap because the bacteria killers in antibacterial soaps bring up the same resistance and subsequent ineffectiveness issues as the overuse of antibiotics.
Although sanitizing gels cannot kill all kinds of germs, they are the next best thing after soap and water. Use sanitizing gel that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Apply enough to cover every square inch of your hands and fingers and rub your hands until dry. Sanitizing gels leave the natural oils on your skin, so they are less irritating and drying if you have to cleanse your hands frequently during the day like I do (up to 60 times a day!). If there is visible contamination on your hands or you are dealing with poop, always wash with soap and water.
To help others around you remember to wash their hands, there is plenty of printable information about hand-washing at www.cdc.gov/handwashing/resources.html.
Spreading the word about hand-washing helps us all avoid spreading disease.
Dr. Bob Riggs is a family medicine physician practicing at Group Health’s Riverfront Medical Center.