Study shows Americans getting lax about clean hands

Yahoo ^ | 9/17/07

[Mr. Brightside]

Study shows Americans getting lax about clean hands

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Americans' hands are getting dirtier, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They said 77 percent of more than 6,000 men and women washed their hands in public restrooms -- a 6 percent decline compared with a similar study in 2005.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, handwashing in the single-most important prevention step for reducing disease transmission.

In a telephone survey, 92 percent of adults said they wash their hands in public conveniences, according to the study done by the American Society for Microbiology and The Soap and Detergent Association.

But the study, which also conducted research at public restrooms, showed people's actions were not always matching their claims.

Men were the biggest offenders, with just 66 percent of men seen washing their hands in public bathrooms, compared with 88 percent of the women, according to study presented at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy meeting in Chicago.

"Very clearly, guys need to step up to the sink," said Brian Sansoni, a spokesman for the soap industry group, told reporters. "One third of guys weren't washing their hands in public restrooms. That's gross."

Researchers staked out restrooms at different types of venues in four U.S. cities: Chicago's Shedd Aquarium and the Museum of Science and Industry, Atlanta's Turner Field, New York's Grand Central Station and Penn Station and San Francisco's Ferry Terminal Farmer's Market.

Men's hygiene was worst at Atlanta's Turner Field, where just 57 percent of men were observed washing their hands after using the toilet at the baseball venue. But 95 percent of women there washed their hands, the highest percentage observed in the study.

Chicago was the city with the cleanest hands overall. New York was the second-cleanest, Atlanta came in third, and then San Francisco.

While handwashing trends in public toilets appear to be on the decline, the more than 1,000 men and women surveyed by telephone in the study reported virtually no change in their habits.

The researchers could not account for why people appear to be washing their hands less in public bathrooms. And they admitted that because the research was done in different venues, it was not scientifically valid.

But they said the trend is troubling.

"Fifteen to 20 seconds of friction and soap and water will remove so many germs from your hands and help with your wellbeing. That is a marvellous intervention that will work all over the world," Judy Daly, director of the Microbiology Laboratories at the Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, told reporters.

[DuncanWaring]

My parents taught me not to pee on my hands.

[Red Badger]

Not ME!.....I don’t touch stuff in public unless I absolutely HAVE to! I hold the doors that don’t operate by themselves high up on the edges so I don’t touch where others do, or wait til someone goes in or out. I use my foot if I have to............

[Red Badger]

You mean you did at first?..............

[Mr. Brightside]

Health Inspector: Are you Poppie?

POPPIE: I’m Poppie.

Health Inspector: I think you’d better come with me.

POPPIE: What’s the problem?

(Poppie leaves with the Health Inspector)

AUDREY: What do they want from Poppie?

JERRY: Well, Poppie’s a little sloppy.

[MD_Willington_1976]

Doesn’t help when the guy in the John before you lays out a Lincoln log, wipes and then buggers off without washing up, we have a bunch of pigs like that at work...

[rhombus]

OK you’re in an airport in a hurry to catch a plane. You finish up your business and see that there are no hand towels... only those idiotic hand dryers and a line of people waiting to use them. What do you do? 1) Wait in line like a good robot. 2) Wipe your hands on the insides of your pockets. 3) Skip the whole thing and use the bottle of Germ-X you carry when you travel.

[Perdogg]

I flush public commodes with my foot.

[DuncanWaring]

There was a time I’d pee on most anything.

[rfp1234]

Chicago was the city with the cleanest hands overall.

Well, of course it is. After all, it features the cleanest politicians.[/s]

[TommyDale]

Two guys at a Duke-NC State game in the men’s room, they both finish using the urinal and the guy from NC State washes his hands, but notices the Duke guy doesn’t wash. The NC State guy says, “Don’t they teach you Duke boys to wash after using the bathroom?” The Duke guy says, “At Duke, they teach us not to pee on our hands!”

[MeanWestTexan]

Urine is actually very clean, unless you’re sick.

I remember being told to clean wounds with it in survival school

That said, I wash my hands BEFORE I pee. I know where I’ve been, and it’s OK.

[ustanker]

Was at a concert and while using Latrine guys were not washing hands and the few that were,No soap!.....Hope they weren’t sharing food.

[Disambiguator]

OK you’re in an airport in a hurry to catch a plane. You finish up your business and see that there are no hand towels... only those idiotic hand dryers and a line of people waiting to use them. What do you do? 1) Wait in line like a good robot. 2) Wipe your hands on the insides of your pockets. 3) Skip the whole thing and use the bottle of Germ-X you carry when you travel.

Since I have lived in dry climates for the last 14 years, I can get away with a wash, shake 'em dry, and they air dry in just a couple of minutes. No towels or blowers needed.

BTW, some places have these jet powered hand dryers that register about 120Db and dry your hands in 3 seconds. Has anyone else seen these?

[socialismisinsidious]

It’s the libs! They are the ones always trying to save water and advocate one square of T.P. per wipe.

[DuncanWaring]

I remember being told to clean wounds with it in survival school.

That ... I don't remember.

[ClearCase_guy]

OK you’re in an airport in a hurry to catch a plane. You finish up your business and see that there are no hand towels... only those idiotic hand dryers and a line of people waiting to use them. What do you do?

Well, I'd tap my toes in frustration.
Then, I'd bend down and pick up a scrap of paper from the ground, and ...

Wait a minute! Are you a cop??

[VOA]

Study shows Americans getting lax about clean hands

Old news (that needs to be repeated)

About a decade ago, radio-legend Paul Harvey reported the results
of a little experiment a public health epidemiologist conducted
at a convention (of peers!!!) in New Orleans.

The researchers convinced grad students and associates (post-docs?)
to anonymously "loiter" in the restrooms at the convention...
and discretely report the hand-washing activities of the attendees.

IIRC, less than half of the observed attendees washed their hands
after "doing their business" in the bathrooms.

BUT...the real shocker was...
MEN washed their hands at a higher rate than WOMEN!

(being in academia...my unscientific thought is that females
in the "sciences" are just not as concerned/obsessed
ON AVERAGE
with cleanliness as those outside the "sciences")

[rhombus]

Well, I'd tap my toes in frustration. Then, I'd bend down and pick up a scrap of paper from the ground, and ...

Book him... unless of course you want to plead guilty, pay me a few bucks and the whole thing will just go away. You hayseed perv. ;-)

[Greg F]

1) Germ-X. 2) Don’t lick the fingers of anyone you don’t know very well.

[indylindy]

Maybe we are trying to aspire to that turd world status.

Before you know it we will just drop the drawers and relieve ourselves wherever we please!

[L98Fiero]

What a canard. One is better off not to touch a thing in a public restroom. I’m sure my junk is cleaner than anything in the room and as stated, I don’t pee on my hands.

[MeanWestTexan]

Under open wounds:

http://www.aircav.com/survival/asch04/asch04p05.html

[Political Junkie Too]

I know my hands are clean. My dog thoroughly licked them both this morning.

-PJ

[Spok]

It’s not touching yourself that’s dangerous-it’s touching things-anything-that others have touched. Read up on MERSA and look at some pictures of people who have it. I’m an EMT and I wash before AND after I use the bathroom.

[catman67]

In Ancient Rome, they used to use urine as for brushing teeth.

[pandoraou812]

I was sending my child into school with the waterless antibacterial hand sanitizers & her dr told me its a waste of money. That nothing replaces plain old soap & water. She also suggested we keep a roll of paper towels in the bathroom as towels carry germs. Since we did that we have had less colds etc. I still have hand sanitizers in the car as I have phobias but I don’t bother sending it to school. I do insists she wash her hands as soon as she comes home form anywhere. And I taught her to flush with her foot. She won’t use the school bathroom unless she really has to.

[rhombus]

That said, I wash my hands BEFORE I pee. I know where I’ve been, and it’s OK.

I always wondered about you pre-pee washers but I don't have enough interest to hang around and see if you're post-pee washers too.

[ninergold3]

I saw an experiment done on a college campus. Students were told that they were testing a hand moisturizer. It was actually a solution that glowed under a blacklight. The stuff could be washed off with plain soap and water and it showed exactly who washed and how well.

The look on the kids faces when they saw how much of the solution was on their hands and what the experiment was all about was priceless. Pretty gross results though.

[stylin19a]

And they admitted that because the research was done in different venues, it was not scientifically valid.

But they said the trend is troubling.

fake but accurate.

After having washed your hands, the first thing you touch is the door knob or lever or push plate to get out of the john.
Now you gotta wash 'em all over again.
Caught in this time warp continuum, you'll now be in there so long that you'll eventually meet Larry Craig.

[MeanWestTexan]

Out of politeness, I generally also do a post-pee wash, as well, but’s it’s more perfunctory.

I also generally get a paper towel to turn off the water.

[carton253]

Poppie peed on the couch!

[rhombus]

Out of politeness, I generally also do a post-pee wash, as well, but’s it’s more perfunctory. I also generally get a paper towel to turn off the water.

Don't forget the paper towel to open the door too.

[TommyDale]

"Before you know it we will just drop the drawers and relieve ourselves wherever we please!"

When in China, I was shocked to see that by men and women right on the street or sidewalks!

[Red Badger]

Me too! Here in Florida, I don’t know about the rest of the country, the self-flushing toilets and urinals are becoming very common............

[Samba]

And always use that paper towel to grab the door knob on the way out.

[rhombus]

She won’t use the school bathroom unless she really has to.

I thought school bathrooms were for learning how to smoke cigarettes. ;-)

[Red Badger]

I usually use the paper towel that I dry my hands with to hold the doorknob and then toss it back in the restroom as I leave..........

[seowulf]

There was a time I’d pee on most anything.

Electric fence? Trust me. You'll only do that once!

[MeanWestTexan]

Most open out (fire code), so a simple kick will suffice.

[beltfed308]

Don’t lick the fingers of anyone you don’t know very well.

Case in point :>)

A woman went up to the bar in a quiet rural pub...

She gestured alluringly to the bartender who approached her immediately. She seductively signaled that he should bring his face closer to hers. As he did, she gently caressed his full beard.

"Are you the manager?" she asked, softly stroking his face with both hands.

"Actually, no," he replied.

"Can you get him for me? I need to speak to him," she said, running her hands beyond his beard and into his hair.

"I'm afraid I can't," breathed the bartender. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes. I need for you to give him a message," she continued, running her forefinger across the bartender's lip and slyly popping a couple of her fingers into his mouth and allowing him to suck them gently.

"What should I tell him?" the bartender managed to say.

"Tell him," she whispered, "There's no toilet paper, hand soap, or paper towels in the ladies room.

[Abathar]

I work in a tool and die shop that cuts hard steel with carbide. Believe me you learn to wash your hands before you go or learn how to use tweezers while everyone is laughing at you.

[MeanWestTexan]

Depends on the level of electrolytes in your urine.

You could probably get away with it, if it’s clear; not that I’m volunteering.

[absolootezer0]

what’s the point? i pee, i hit the handle, germs are on handle, i hit the faucet.. now the germs are there. i hit the handle for the towel, and there’s germs there, grab the door and more germs.

[DuncanWaring]

Fortunately, at the time, there were no electric fences extant.

[rhombus]

Most open out (fire code), so a simple kick will suffice.

Not where I work....wait, what's that smell? Oh never mind, it's just smoke. ;-)

[andy58-in-nh]

I flush public commodes with my foot.

Me, too. Although lately I've been careful not to make any tapping noises...

[Paleo Conservative]

BTW, some places have these jet powered hand dryers that register about 120Db and dry your hands in 3 seconds. Has anyone else seen these?

[skr]

Aaaack!

[pandoraou812]

I thought school bathrooms were for learning how to smoke cigarettes.

They used to be back when I was in school.

When my last son was in school ( he is 21 yrs old now) he refused to use them because there were needles in there.

My 7 yr old had better not be in the bathroom smoking or she is in BIG trouble.