Yes, it has been a while since I posted anything. There is so much information out there (wherever “there” is), and everyone is so busy, why add to the noise? Still, this came up recently and I was truly appalled there could even be a question in anyone’s mind about the reasons why we all need to remember to do as Mom said, “wash your hands!!
As a healthcare professional, I cringe when I see comments questioning the value of hand washing. It is THE FIRST line of defense against transmission of disease and infection, part of what is known as “aseptic technique”.
As an example, prior to the discovery of disease and infection-causing pathogens, medical doctors routinely went from performing an autopsy or “dirty” surgery (in the gut, or amputation) to a “clean” procedure, such as delivery of a baby without washing their hands!!! Gloves were not in existence. Infant and maternal mortality was extremely high because of this ignorance of pathogen transmission and lack of sterile technique.
In 1846, Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, attempted (unsuccessfully) to implement a preventive technique that included hand washing. For a brief time, infant and maternal mortality declined (see https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/01/12/375663920/the-doctor-who-championed-hand-washing-and-saved-women-s-lives for the story). Unfortunately, the doctors did not like the implication that their practice of going from the autopsy to the delivery room without hand washing was causing people to die, so they stopped doing it – and mothers and babies started dying again. But the doctors were secure in their superiority.
Later studies (Pasteur and Lister) confirmed Dr. Semmelweis’s theory (see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK144018/) and general hand washing standards for healthcare workers have been well established for many years. The CDC and NIH, as well as WHO recommend hand washing as a matter of course, not only in prevention of disease and infection, but of personal hygiene.
Again, hand washing with soap and water, rinsing well and drying hands thoroughly is the FIRST LINE of defense. Recent studies have linked lack of thorough drying (using electric dryers instead of towels https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-dirty-truth-about-hand-dryers/ ) and NOT using soap with the spread of many common illnesses, such as upper respiratory infections and influenza. Think about this – when you shake someone’s hand, do you know where that hand has been? What do you do with your OWN hands when no one is around? Do you have children with runny noses that need to be wiped (or other wipeable areas)? So you shake someone’s hand, then put your hands on a burger or piece of candy and pop it in your mouth. Transmission of “germs” has now occurred. Wash. Your. Hands. Often and thoroughly. You’ll thank me later.
Eagle Canyon 