How to wash your hands: myths and reality

Фото: Depositphotos

Hot water or cold? With soap or hand wash? Towel or dryer? An almost ritual action after visiting the toilet - how to perform it in the best way? Correspondent BBC Future looking for the best way.

And now wash your hands! Sounds easy? But, as often happens, behind the apparent simplicity lies a lot of options and problems, which we do not even suspect.

Although there is a lot of evidence that washing hands after going to the toilet, before eating, or after traveling in public transport significantly reduces the likelihood of the disease spreading, only 5% of us always wash our hands, when and how it should be.

A study of the behavior of more than 3 thousands of people showed that 10% of them leave the public toilet without washing their hands at all, and of those who do, 33% do not use soap.

And it matters, as we usually involuntarily touch our hands with our face, nose, lips, thus allowing the microbes to effortlessly enter our body.

Researchers in Brazil and the United States found that we touch different surfaces in public places on average 3,3 times per hour. And we touch our nose and lips about 3,6 about an hour.

Clearly, we need to wash our hands. The problem is that there are many myths about how to do it correctly.

Should the water be hot?

During a study in which 500 adult Americans participated, 69% of them expressed the opinion that water temperature affects the efficiency of hand washing.

It is true that high temperature can kill bacteria. This is why we cook some types of food using this temperature.

However, to kill the bacteria on the hands, the water must be burning, boiling water.

Salmonella, for example, can survive for 10 minutes or more at temperatures of 55 degrees Celsius. If you try to wash your hands in water heated above this temperature, you risk getting a burn in the first half minute.

Researchers in Florida used the following method to find out how many germs remain on our hands after washing in water between 4.4 and 50 degrees Celsius.

First, the volunteers rubbed their hands with a so-called bacterial soup or raw ground beef. Then they washed their hands in water of a certain temperature and put on rubber gloves. After that, a special solution was poured into the gloves.

After a minute, during which the hands were massaged through the gloves so that all the bacteria mixed with the solution, the resulting liquid (“glove juice”) was sent to the laboratory.

It was found that whatever the temperature was water, it had virtually no effect on the number of bacteria remaining on the hands.

According to most studies, the most hygienic approach is to dry your hands with a disposable paper towel. Photo: Depositphotos

However, let's not rush to turn off the hot water in public toilets. Do not forget about the vagaries of human behavior.

In the experiments mentioned, hand washing took place using a stopwatch, while in real life, if the water is too cold or too hot, we significantly shorten the washing time.

A quick rinse of your hands under the tap is not enough, but warm water at a comfortable temperature can make us spend more time at the sink.

Are there any advantages to antibacterial soap?

Quite a lot of research has been done on this issue. For example, in 2007, scientists summarized the results of several papers and concluded that the component most often added to antibacterial soap (triclosan) at that time reduced the number of bacteria remaining on hands after washing, no more than regular soap.

The antibacterial soap was no different from the usual soap in preventing infection with any infection.

A recent analysis of more recent research conducted in the 2015 year gave the same results.

Meanwhile, the results of a number of laboratory studies have shown that triclosan can contribute to the resistance of bacteria to antibacterial drugs and cause hormonal disorders in animals. As a result, it was forbidden to add triclosan to consumer goods in the US and EU countries.

So the best option is regular soap and water at the temperature you like.

Do I need to wipe or dry my hands?

When you're in a hurry, there's a great temptation not to dry your hands at all - they'll dry themselves! Well, it's okay if you don't touch anything on the way from the toilet.

If you do touch something—like a doorknob—you'll pick up germs along the way, since your damp hands are a gift to them.

Without wiping or drying your hands, you miss the chance to reduce the number of germs that remain on your palms and fingers even after thorough washing.

Dryer or paper towel?

Opinions differ on this point. In most studies, the palm is still given to disposable paper towels.

After all, drying your hands with a towel is much faster than waiting for a stream of air to do its job.

According to one New Zealand study (worth noting, though, that it was funded by a toilet paper service), people spent 45 seconds trying to dry their hands under a stream of air. It is clear that most of us do not want to wait that long.

However, new generation high-speed dryers work much faster. As fast and effective as paper towels: 10 seconds - and your hands are completely dry.

It took quite a while for the old dryers to dry your hands ... Photos: Depositphotos

However, the high-speed dryers got their share of criticism: the air jet in them is so powerful that the microbes simply scatter throughout the room.

A study by Westminster University showed that the most powerful high-speed dryers are capable of sending the virus a meter and a half. Then another study increased this figure to as much as three meters.

Whether you believe these results is up to you. After all, most of the research was funded by those who sell paper towels. However, their authors honestly admitted this, and the results were published in peer-reviewed journals.

In such a situation, there is much more sense in research conducted in real public toilets, and not in the laboratory. In addition, it would be nice to take into account our preferences.

After all, any method that encourages people to dry/dry their hands by washing them is a step forward.

Much depends on the toilets themselves. The study, conducted in a university city in the United States, involved more than 3 thousands of people. It showed that if the toilet is clean and thoroughly cleaned, then the person is much more likely to wash his hands properly.

When the shells were dirty, the participants simply wanted to leave as soon as possible.

The Forest Raised a Christmas Tree

Whatever method of washing your hands you choose, the main thing is to wash them longer than you are used to doing. Lather them properly - not only your palms, but also the outer surface of your hands, rub between your fingers, pay attention to what is under your nails and the space closer to your wrists.

All this should take you from 15 to 30 seconds, no less. To ensure that you have washed your hands long enough, try singing a couple of verses of “A Christmas Tree Was Born in the Forest” to yourself.

And if there is no one in a public toilet, you can speak out loud.

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