Are you a hand washer? We all know we should wash our hands
after using the bathroom. 95% of adults claim to practice restroom hygiene. But
a university study showed that 90% of women do and only 72% of men wash their
hands after leaving the bathroom (Edwards et al., 2002)*. Hand washing was one
of the most significant medical discoveries of all time. So guys, what’s up
with that?
Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician in the mid 1800’s, was
disturbed by the number of deaths from infection that victimized many birthing
mothers. His clinic’s doctor’s ward suffered three times the mortality rate of
midwives. Semmelweis realized that doctors who had recently worked with dead
bodies were also caring for expecting mothers. He established hand washing and
reduced the clinic’s mortality rate to below 1%.
On school days, I generally spend several hours on campus.
Naturally, it is necessary for me to visit a public restroom. I’ve noticed one
facility in particular that seems to be plagued by under washing. Although there
is ample sink space to wash up, there is only one hand soap dispenser on the
far side of the counter. This leads many patrons to leave the bathroom without
lathering up, simply because it is inconvenient to reach around another user to
get disinfectant.
The other day, I had several hours to kill, so I decided to
see if the problem persisted only in restrooms in which there was not enough
soap. Each one was the same. I walked in. The smell of deodorizer barely masked
the unmistakable stench of fecal matter. Even if the restroom had no dispenser
issues, I usually observed at least one person not washing his hands. It didn’t
seem to matter what type of movement it was- be it bowel or bladder. I found
myself wanting to exclaim, “Dude, I know your mother taught you to wash your
hands. You just got off the toilet and I have to touch the doorknob too.”
It’s clear that as a society, we understand that we are
supposed to wash our hands. Edwards and his crew show in their study that most
people claim to wash their hands. They look into several other factors, such as
race and whether or not an observer being present makes a difference. But the
key factor is gender. And men are far behind.
So seriously, what’s up with that?
*Edwards,
Donald, Elizabeth Monk-Turner, Steve Poorman, Maria Rushing, Stephen Warren and
Jarita Willie. 2002. "Predictors of Hand-Washing Behavior." Social
Behavior and Personality 30(8):751-756
Makes you think twice before you shake someone's hands...
ReplyDeleteG-man, Interesting research you did. It clearly shows what an impact clean hands have!Do you think a closer soap dispenser would have made any difference? Or do you think people are blissfully unaware that they literally have crap on their hands? I'm leaving my desk to go wash my hands right now!!!
ReplyDeleteI admit I have OCD when it comes to washing my hands.
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous, hell yes we hand washers cringe when we think about how many people "Don't".
I'm so OCD that I listen for the water in the sink, when someone is in the restroom. If I don't hear it... I flat out ask!
Did you wash your hands? The look says it all.
I reply: if you want to touch me anywhere. GO WASH!! Cali Cousin
That's hilarious! It probably gets pretty awkward in those situations. I wonder if they make a habit of washing after getting called out.
DeleteYou might add to your blog that antibacterial handsoap is equally destructive to the good bacteria on your skin. Unless you think you may have come into contact with some infectious agent it is usually good to use normal soap to protect the bacteria that protects your skin.
ReplyDelete