Hand Washing

Want to keep from catching the common cold, strep throat and influenza this winter? You can stock your medicine cabinet with the best homeopathic remedies and swallow a dozen vitamins a day. But the infection control experts agree: The easiest, cheapest and most effective way to keep the bugs at bay is thoroughly and frequently washing your hands.

“The hands are the perfect vehicle for transmitting all types of germs. So it only makes sense that proper hand hygiene is the simplest, most effective way of preventing the spread of infection,” says Jackie Daley, director of Infection Prevention and Control at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.

Turns out mom was right: Clean hands are one of the most important ways to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. The lesson is especially true for young children who are at greater risk of contracting influenza, or the flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates nearly 22 million school days are lost each year to the common cold. However, when children practice proper hand hygiene, they miss fewer days of school. Another CDC study found that children under age 5 who regularly wash their hands with soap are 50 percent less likely to contract pneumonia, which can lead to death.

Hand washing also lessens the risk of acquiring Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a type of bacteria that is resistant to some of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics. The disease most commonly infects patients with weakened immune systems in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care centers, but outbreaks of MRSA in schools and other community settings are on the rise.

“We panic when we get a letter from our children’s school that a student has head lice. But tell them about MRSA and they look surprised – just because we can’t see it,” Jackie says. “As with head lice, an ounce of prevention can go a long way to stopping the spread of the flu, MRSA and many other communicable diseases.”

Proper technique is key
Scared yet? Good. Now you’ve committed yourself to taking action and practicing good hand hygiene. But even the most religious hand washers can leave themselves exposed to germs by using the wrong disinfecting agents and poor technique. Running your hands under cold water “is just giving the germs a quick cool-down shower. We might as well not bother washing if we don’t do it the right way,” Jackie says.

To wash your hands the right way, begin by removing any heavy jewelry. Use soap and warm water. Rub your hands together hard for at least 15 seconds – about the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice (in your head, please). Rub your palms, fingernails, in between your fingers and the backs of your hands up to the wrist. The water should be warm but not too hot.

“The bugs are smarter than we are. They hide in places we don’t expect to find them, especially under the fingernails and on the back of the hands,” Jackie says.

Use your common sense to decide when it’s appropriate to wash. The CDC recommends washing after you use the bathroom and before and after you eat. Wash your hands when you take out the trash, change a diaper, visit a sick person or play with a pet.

“When in doubt,” Jackie says, “wash.”

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers and lotions also are an effective substitute for soap and water provided the alcohol content is 63 percent or more. Hospital patients should request a pump if there isn’t one in their room. In a hospital setting, doctors and nurses routinely come into contact with many types of bacteria and viruses, including MRSA. Health care providers are supposed to disinfect their hands before touching any equipment or patient, but national studies show a 40 percent compliance rate.

To reduce the risk of spreading MRSA and other infections, many hospitals, in concert with the CDC, are mounting public awareness campaigns encouraging patients to challenge health care providers who fail to clean their hands or wear gloves before engaging in any patient care activities.

“Patients need to take an active role in their care. They should not be afraid to ask their providers to wear gloves or wash their hands,” Jackie says.

Germaphobes beware
Of course, even if you wash your hands 100 times a day, it won’t matter if someone sneezes or coughs in your face. Germs can travel three feet or more when we sneeze and cough. That’s why the first lesson many kindergarteners learn (if they haven’t already) is to cover their mouth and nose.

Most of us also learn at an early age to keep tissues handy when we’re sick and cough into our elbow instead of our hands. But the best way to keep from passing your germs on to others is to stay home when you’re sick. Avoid shaking hands or touching others if you must venture out.

“Infection prevention is everyone’s business. We all have a role to play,” Jackie says.