What Happens When You Don’t Wash Your Hands

What Happens When You Don’t Wash Your Hands

Most people understand, at least at some level, that washing your hands well and often is critical to personal and public health and safety, and yet, many still struggle with a simple task that could save so many lives.

What Happens When You Don't Wash Your Hands

Washing Your Hands Matters More Than You Think

Handwashing matters, but even if you are doing it, you're likely not doing it correctly.

A 2018 study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health;

[...] showed that only between 64% to 75% of women washed their hands and between 30% to 51% of men did.

These studies also found that only 5% of people who did wash their hands, did so long enough for them to kill germs on their hands.

Washing Your Hands: This Simple Step Can Save Lives

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

It is estimated that washing hands with soap and water could reduce diarrheal disease-associated deaths by up to 50%.

Researchers in London estimate that if everyone routinely washed their hands, a million deaths a year could be prevented.

Handwashing can reduce the risk of respiratory infections by 16%.

The use of an alcohol gel hand sanitizer in the classroom provided an overall reduction in absenteeism due to infection by 19.8% among 16 elementary schools and 6,000 students.

Water, Sanitation & Environmentally-related Hygiene

 

Health Risks of Bad Hand Hygiene

Failing to wash your hands well and often carries a slew of health risks, both to yourself and everyone around you.

First and foremost, your hands, everything you eat, and most of the things you touch will be covered in fecal matter and bacteria--already a wide-spread issue.

According to research compiled by the Metro (UK), 10 percent of credit cards and more than 16 percent of cell phones have fecal matter on them.

And according to a 2002 study published in the Southern Medical Journal, 94 percent of dollar bills tested by researchers had pathogens on them, including fecal matter. And yeah, it's not our own fecal matter that is contaminating all these items (as we tend to not get sick from contact with our own poop) — we're touching other people's poop.

So if you pay for a hot dog with a dollar bill, then use that same unwashed hand to shove that dog into your food hole...well, you're likely consuming an extra condiment or two that you did not sign on for.

What Happens When You Don't Wash Your Hands?

Secondly, you'll be exposed and expose others to a laundry list of illnesses, including:

  • Common airborne illnesses--colds, influenza, meningitis, and chickenpox
  • E. coli
  • Norovirus
  • Conjunctivitis
  • Mononucleosis
  • Giardiasis
  • Cytomegalovirus
  • Staph
  • Strep Throat
  • RSV
  • Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease
  • Salmonellosis
  • Hepatitis A

Finally, as a result of all the increased illness and infection, you'll need to take more antibiotics, which will lead to antibiotic resistance due to overuse, and possibly contribute to the spread of deadly antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

According to the CDC, reducing the number of infections people get by washing your hands can help prevent the overuse of antibiotics, which is the single most important factor leading to antibiotic resistance around the world.

In fact, hand washing can also prevent people from getting sick with germs that are already resistant to antibiotics and that can be difficult to treat, according to the CDC.

So help out everyone on the planet, and wash your those hands!

11 Things That Can Happen When You Don't Wash Your Hands Enough, According To Experts

 

Handwashing Compliance & COVID-19 Concerns

As a result of the latest coronavirus outbreak, high-level handwashing compliance in the U.S. more than doubled.

However, health officials are concerned that regular handwashing will return to its previous, abysmal, pre-pandemic numbers as the virus is beaten back.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO);

We are at a critical juncture – what the global community does or does not do to sustain handwashing now could save or kill millions of vulnerable children, slow or drive the spread of antimicrobial resistance and also determine the first line of defence for adolescents, adults and the elderly.

Prior to COVID-19, handwashing with soap after using the toilet was reported at just 19 per cent globally.

Investments in handwashing have increased significantly over the past few months as leaders have attempted to quickly stem the spread of the virus.

One US study indicated the percentage of Americans who reported washing their hands six or more times per day increased from 37 per cent pre-coronavirus to 78 per cent in April 2020.

However, without durable, affordable, accessible and convenient ways for the most vulnerable to wash their hands, and policies that encourage it into the future, we fear that this vital behaviour will return to low pre-pandemic levels once the threat of COVID-19 subsides, or even before as the threat of behavioural fatigue looms.

Handwashing can’t stop – millions of lives are at stake

 

References & Resources

 

Takeaway

Routine high-quality hand-hygiene is critical to ensuring public health and safety but is a product of several criteria, specifically:

  • Resource availability.
  • Training, and;
  • Feedback.

Put simply, people are more likely to wash their hands when provided with a clean and safe environment that is stocked with soap, fresh towels, and clean water.

Providing regular training re-engages people in the process and reminds them of the potential consequences of non-compliance.

Providing feedback based on training and observation helps people improve their personal hygiene habits and reduces the risk of wide-spread infection.

Day porter services have proven invaluable to schools and businesses desperate to maintain clean restrooms and well-supplied hand hygiene stations throughout the day.

Outsourcing is a proven method for ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness, safety, and training while controlling costs and eliminating management overhead.

If you would like more information regarding the effectiveness of high-performance infection prevention and control measures, or if you would like to schedule a free, no-obligation onsite assessment of your facility's custodial needs, contact us today for a free quote!

In Bakersfield, CA, call (661) 437-3253

In Fresno, CA, call (559) 206-1059

In Valencia CA, or Santa Clarita CA, call (661) 437-3253

In Palmdale, CA or Lancaster, CA, call (661) 371-4756


Vanguard Cleaning Systems of the Southern Valley

Vanguard Cleaning Systems of the Southern Valley