Survey Shows How Many People Skip Handwashing After Using the Toilet

Australia’s Food Safety Information Council recently released a report on the nation’s handwashing habits. It revealed that 19% of Australians don’t always wash their hands after using the toilet, and nearly half (42%) confess they don’t consistently wash their hands before handling food.

Do you wash your hands every time you use the bathroom? What about before preparing food? Be honest.

So, who’s practicing good hand hygiene, who’s falling short – and why is it important?

The new report surveyed 1,229 people on their handwashing habits, and the findings align with previous surveys.

Women Continue to Outperform Men in Handwashing Habits

Once again, women slightly outperformed men in washing their hands after using the toilet (83% of women versus 80% of men). However, only 55% of men washed their hands before handling food, compared to 62% of women.

Age also played a role, with 69% of people under 34 washing their hands every time they used the toilet, compared to 86% of those over 65.

While some differences, like the gap between men and women, aren’t surprising, the reasons behind these habits remain unclear.

Are Public Health Messages on Handwashing Reaching People?

Public health campaigns often emphasize proper handwashing techniques, but there’s less research on how many people actually adopt these habits. To understand why some skip soap and water, it’s important to explore whether those messages are effectively reaching people.

One study in India asked school children about obstacles to handwashing. Most (91%) had a low “illness threat perception,” meaning they didn’t believe not washing their hands after using the toilet posed a health risk.

Interestingly, 46% of the children saw the inability to visually detect germs as a major barrier, while 72% said they would wash their hands if their friends did.

It’s easy to assume these reasons might apply to other age groups, but we lack sufficient research to be sure. The motivations for washing or not washing hands likely change throughout a person’s life and depending on their situation.

Urine and feces contain millions of germs, especially feces, which has over 100 billion germs per gram.

When you use the toilet and touch surfaces in the bathroom, you pick up germs. If you skip washing your hands, you carry those germs with you, spreading them to every surface you touch afterward.

Skipping Handwashing Puts Others at Risk

While you may not get sick yourself, you’re contributing to the spread of bacteria, increasing the risk of infection for others, particularly those with weakened immune systems, like the elderly or cancer patients undergoing treatment.

Washing hands before preparing or eating food is equally important. The risk goes both ways: if harmful germs are on your hands (perhaps because you didn’t wash after using the toilet), they can transfer to the food, multiply, and produce toxins. Those who consume the food could then get sick, often with symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea.

On the flip side, certain foods, like raw poultry, can naturally carry germs such as salmonella and campylobacter. If you don’t wash your hands after handling these foods, you could transfer those bacteria to other surfaces, increasing the risk of spreading infection.

How should I wash my hands?

Follow these three simple steps for proper handwashing:

1. Wet your hands and rub them together to create a good lather with soap for at least 20 seconds, making sure to wash between your fingers and under your nails. You may need to use a nail brush.
2. Rinse thoroughly under running water to remove germs.
3. Dry your hands completely on a clean towel for at least 20 seconds. Moist hands can pick up germs from surfaces more easily.

What about hand sanitizer?

If running water isn’t available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. These work quickly to inactivate a wide range of germs, making them non-infectious. Hand sanitizers are effective against many bacteria and viruses responsible for common gastrointestinal and respiratory infections.

However, if your hands are visibly dirty with organic matter like blood, feces, meat, sand, or soil, sanitizers won’t work. In that case, soap and water are needed.

The bottom line

Handwashing is like wearing a seatbelt—you do it every time you’re in the car, not just when you expect to be in an accident. The key takeaway is that handwashing is a simple, quick action that benefits both you and others, but only if you do it.
— Christine Carson, Senior Research Fellow, School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia

Read the original article on: Science Alert

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