Beat the bugs by... washing your hands

In today’s science feature from lecturers at the University of Huddersfield, Dr Paul Humphreys looks at the spread of disease

Television bombards us with adverts telling us that our kitchens and bathrooms are covered in unwanted bugs.

Other TV programmes show us how dirty some people’s homes are.

They never seem to miss a chance to grow some noxious germs out of the fluff in the corner.

A recent study said that computer keyboards are covered in huge numbers of bacteria. Apparently women’s keyboards are worse than men’s because women are more likely to eat at their desks! Telephones, fax machines, cash points and photocopiers have all been highlighted as places where unwanted bugs can be picked up. We are made to feel under siege from harmful germs both at home, at work, and even in hospital.

Surprisingly, there are many more harmless and helpful bugs out there than there are dangerous ones.

Most bugs we meet at home, work, in the garden or out in the countryside do us no harm or are helpful. Bacteria help peas and beans grow, clean up waste and pollution, and aid our digestion.

Good hygiene is of course important. We must all be very careful when handling and preparing food.

But a less hysterical approach to hygiene would be helpful, specifically one that does not involve all-out chemical warfare.

What would have the biggest impact on our health and that of those around us?

It would not be a new miracle disinfectant spray, but good old fashioned hand-washing. Washing hands does not feature often on the TV but it can make a big impact on public health.

Not many people wash their hands properly or often enough. Lots of diseases are spread through germs getting on our hands, including colds, flu and stomach upsets.

One of the commonest ways of catching cold is by touching your eyes or nose after the virus has got on to your hands. Studies have shown that one in five people do not wash their hands after they have been to a public toilet, and even fewer wash after sneezing or coughing.

This is a great shame because hand-washing a simple habit that only needs warm water and soap.

Regular hand washing is an effective way of removing germs that we pick up from the things and people we touch. Many infections are passed through hand to mouth contact. We should always wash our hands before and after handling raw food, particularly meats, before eating, after touching pets and after putting out the rubbish.

At the university, we often use a cream that glows under UV light to show visitors the importance of hand washing. We ask for volunteers and put a small amount of cream on their hands.

They rub the cream in and then wash their hands as normal.

After washing they place their hands in the light box to see if they have removed all the cream.

If they have not, their hands glow blue. Some people need a few goes before it’s all gone. Common areas missed are around the thumb, around rings, the finger nails and knuckles on the back of the hands.

Even people who do wash their hands regularly don’t always know how to do it properly.

Good hand washing is probably the simplest thing we could all do to improve public health.

It is a pity that it is not always used effectively, whether in hospitals or by the general public.




Now wash your hands

The expert’s way to do it properly!

First of all, you need to wet your hands in warm running water, then you need to apply soap and produce a good lather.

Hands should be rubbed together vigorously for 15 to 30 seconds, about the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday to You” three times.

You should work on all the parts of the hands including the backs of the hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.

Finally the hands should be rinsed in running water. This is particularly important since soap lifts off dirt and any germs present but unless the soap is rinsed away the germs will just dry back on to the hands. Finally hands should be dried with either towels or a hand dryer.

If you only teach your children one thing about hygiene it should be to wash their hands. Effective hand hygiene is a great habit for children to learn early and something that every primary school could teach.