Thorough Hand Washing Can Help Prevent Disease

Hand Washing plays a major role in preventing the spread of diseases. Washing your hands regularly with soap and water can protect you from many illnesses caused by viruses and bacteria. Washing removes germs you pick up when you touch people, animals, or surfaces. If not removed, these germs may get into your eyes, nose, or mouth and cause illness. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) strongly encourages everyone to develop good hand washing habits.

Cant See Germs

Germs hide on remote controls, door handles, keyboards, faucet handles and any surface people touch. Since we can never be sure what germs are on our hands, washing them regularly and thoroughly with soap and water is a very important safeguard against infectious disease.

When to Wash
Overall, wash your hands as frequently as you can; it is essential to wash your hands at these special times:

Before touching any food or eating After using the bathroom After handling animals or animal wastes

How to Wash
The following procedure will remove up to 99.9 percent of the germs that get on your hands during the course of daily activities:

Wet your hands with clean water Apply soap Rub your hands together vigorously and scrub all surfaces Scrub for 20 seconds (sing Happy Birthday twice) Rinse with clean water Dry hands briskly

Hand Hygiene
Wash Your Hands! Hand hygiene is a term used to cover both hand washing using soap and water, and cleaning hands with waterless or alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

Why Hand Hygiene is Important and When to Wash Your Hands Washing your hands is the best way to stop germs from spreading. Learn more about why you should wash your hands, diseases you don't want, antibiotic resistance, how germs are spread, where germs hide, and when to wash your hands.

Antibacterial soap vs. Plain soap: Which is better?

Antibacterial soaps are no more effective than plain soap and water for killing disease-causing germs outside of healthcare settings. There is no evidence that antibacterial soaps are more effective than plain soap for preventing infection under most circumstances in the home or in public places. Therefore, plain soap is recommended in public, non-healthcare settings and in the home (unless otherwise instructed by your doctor). Do antibacterial soaps promote antibiotic resistance? There is no evidence that antibacterial soaps cause antibiotic resistance, but some scientists believe they may contribute to the development of antibiotic resistant germs.

Plain soap:

Recommended for use in non-healthcare settings Easy to find in stores read the label! Usually less expensive than antibacterial soaps Rubbing your hands is the most important step in cleaning your hands

Antibacterial soap:

Not needed in businesses or most homes (unless directed by your healthcare provider) No more effective than plain soap in killing germs on your hands or body Must be left on your hands for about two minutes in order to have any effect on bacteria

Liquid soap or bar soap?

Liquid soap:

Liquid soap is generally recommended over bar soap for cleaning your hands Liquid soap is easy to use and will not spread germs from one person to another Many liquid soaps also include a moisturizing agent, so your hands may not dry out as quickly from frequently cleaning your hands

Bar soap:

Germs can grow on bar soap and easily spread from one person to another Bar soap can be used in a household if no one has skin infections Bar soap should not be used in public places, anyone in your household has a skin infection

Another way to clean hands: Hand Sanitizer

Wash your hands with soap and water when your hands are visibly soiled. If soap and water is not available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer (wipes or gel). Food handlers in restaurants, schools, delis and grocery stores must wash their hands with soap and water before applying hand sanitizers. [Minn Rules Chap. 4626.0070 - 4626.0085]

Five common ways germs are spread:

Nose, mouth, or eyes to hands to others: Germs can spread to the hands by sneezing, coughing, or rubbing the eyes and then can be transferred to other family members or friends. Simply washing your hands can help prevent such illnesses as the common cold or eye infections. Hands to food: Usually germs are transmitted from unclean hands to food by an infected food preparer who didnt wash his or her hands after using the toilet. The germs are then passed to those who eat the food. This is easily prevented by always washing your hands after using the toilet and before preparing food items. Food to hands to food: Germs are transmitted from raw foods, such as chicken, to hands while preparing a meal. The germs on the hands are then transferred to other uncooked foods, such as salad. Cooking the raw food kills the initial germs, but the salad remains contaminated.

Infected child to hands to other children: Germs are passed from a child with diarrhea to the hands of the parent during diaper changing. If the parent doesnt immediately wash his or her hands, the germs that cause diarrhea are then passed to others. Animals to people: Wash your hands after petting animals or touching any surfaces they come into contact with. A person has more bacteria on their body than there are people in the United States 229,000 germs per square inch on frequently used faucet handles 21,000 germs per square inch on work desks 1,500 on each square centimeter of hands

High on the worst hiding places list:

Work desk Kitchen sink is worse than bathroom Dishcloth, sponge Garbage can Refrigerator Bathroom doorknob Keyboards Escalator handrails Shopping cart handles Picnic tables Light switches Remote controls Toys Bathroom cups Pens, pencils and crayons Pet cages Of those surveyed, 37 percent said they do not wash their hands after sneezing or coughing, 27 percent reported skipping the hand wash process after handling pets and other animals, 10 percent said they neglected to wash up before handling or eating food and 7 percent said they did not wash after using the bathroom, WebMD reported Tuesday. Thirty-one percent reported washing their hands diligently in every situation. Lysol surveyed 8,000 men and women over the age of 18 in the United States, Britain, Italy, Germany, United Arab Emirates, India, Malaysia, and South Africa. Of the countries polled, only Germany was found to have worse hand washing habits than the United States. Only about 25 percent of German participants reported washing their hands in each of the above situations, and 13 percent said they tend not to wash after using the toilet. Copyright 2006 by United Press International Explore further: Hypertension researcher encourages colleagues to expand their focus

References: (attention: Non- MDH links) The Effect of Antibacterial Formula Hand Cleaners on the Elimination of Microbes on Hands Harvard Medical School Consumer Use of Antimicrobial Soap American Medical Association. Antibacterial soaps and lotions have no health benefit over ordinary soap. Antibacterial Household Products: Cause for Concern CDC: Emerging Infectious Diseases Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work CDC: Antibacterial-containing products have not been proven to prevent the spread of infection better than products that do not contain antibacterial chemicals. Hand Washing- Minnesota Food Code Fact Sheet Safe Food is Good Business fact sheet from the Minnesota Food Code. Regulatory History and Attributes of Consumer Antiseptics In 2005, an FDA advisory panel considered the question of the effectiveness of antibacterial products and overwhelmingly concluded that there was no evidence proving that antibacterial soaps were more effective than regular soaps for preventing infection. Clinical Infectious Disease Journal Literature Review A literature review published in the Clinical Infectious Disease Journal concluded that antibacterial soaps do not provide a benefit above and beyond plain soaps for generally healthy people living in the community. (Clin Infect Dis. 2007 Sep 1;45 Suppl 2:S137-47) APIC Guideline for Handwashing and Hand Antisepsis in Healthcare Settings American Journal of Infection Control, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (AJIC. 1995 23:251-269)