The Facts about Handwashing

When done correctly, handwashing is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Good handwashing technique is easy to learn and can significantly reduce the spread of infectious diseases among both children and adults.

Spreading Disease
Handwashing can stop three of the main ways in which diseases spread between people:

1. Fecal-oral transmission. This refers to diseases we get by ingesting fecal material (also called stool, excrement, poop, etc.), which happens more often than we'd like to imagine - usually because someone forgets to wash their hands after using the toilet and then touches food, drinks or other items. The germs are transferred to others who touch those items later. Many types of microbe are transmitted this way, including salmonellosis, shigellosis, hepatitis A, giardiasis, enterovirus, amebiasis and campylobacteriosis.

2. Indirect contact with respiratory secretions. Many diseases are spread indirectly by infected people who cough or sneeze into their hands, leaving respiratory discharges that can be picked up by other people when they touch or shake hands. Sneezers and coughers, wash your hands! The rest of us need to remember to wash our hands after touching anyone who has been coughing and sneezing. Influenza (flu), streptococcus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the common cold are just a few of the illnesses that can spread this way.

3. Contact with body fluids. Urine, saliva and other moist body substances can spread microbes including cytomegalovirus, typhoid, staphylococcal organisms, and Epstein-Barr virus. These germs can be transmitted from person to person or indirectly by contamination of food or objects such as toys.

Technique
There's probably more to good handwashing than you think, so take your time and do it right: by rubbing your hands vigorously with soapy water, you pull soils and the oily dirt away from your skin. The lather traps the dirt and germs so they can be rinsed away.

Lather with soap for at least 10 seconds. Wash the front and back of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails. Rinse your hands well under warm running water and dry them completely with a clean towel. You can be extra careful by using a clean paper towel to turn off the water and then throwing it away.

• Don't use a single damp cloth to wash a group of children's hands.
• Don't use a standing basin of water to rinse hands.
• Don't use a hand towel used by others. Use disposable towels in day care or food preparation settings.
• Don't use sponges or non-disposable cleaning cloths unless you launder them on a regular basis, adding chlorine bleach to the wash water.

Teach the Kids
Encourage children to wash hands before eating, after playing outdoors or playing with pets, after using the bathroom, and after blowing their noses. Even though hands might look clean, they often carry germs or microorganisms that are capable of causing disease.

Don't assume that kids know how to wash their hands properly. Showing and helping them, especially in a day care setting, is the best way to form good habits in children.

Antibacterial Gels
Antibacterial gels, which can be found wherever soap is sold, are very effective at killing germs on the hands as long as your hands are not visibly dirty. They should be used when soap and water are not readily available.

To use correctly, apply about a teaspoonful of the alcohol gel on the palm of one hand. Then rub all over both hands, making sure you rub the front, back, and fingernail areas of both hands. Let the alcohol dry, which should take about 30 seconds.

If hands look dirty but you have no other way to wash them, use the gel but wash with soap and water as soon as you can.

This article includes information from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services.

For more information on this topic, see the HealthLink article 15-Second Procedure Saves Lives (and you already know how to do it).

Each year, Medical College of Wisconsin physicians care for more than 180,000 patients, representing nearly 500,000 patient visits. Medical College physicians practice at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, and many other hospitals and clinics in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin.