As a child, I always thought my mom was being a little obsessive when she made us wash our hands before every meal. Then I had children. The thought of some of the things that went in my children’s mouths as youngsters still gives me the shivers.

Hand hygiene is one of the most powerful weapons in reducing the transmission of infectious agents. However, conflicting hand hygiene recommendations for different settings are causing confusion as to what the best practice to follow or what products should be used for daily hand washing and hygiene.

Many people have the misconception that their immediate environment must be germ free. However, we live in a natural world full of microorganisms --some of which can cause illness or disease, others are essential to our environment and wellbeing.

Recommendations for hand washing and hand sanitation can vary depending on a person’s job function and personal health requirements. Research has shown that hand sanitizers can be as effective as hand washing only in certain situations. Because dirt, food or anything else on your hands can make the alcohol in sanitizers less effective, it’s important to first wash your hands with soap and water. Hand sanitizers should primarily be used only as an optional follow-up to hand washing… but when soap and water aren’t available, an alcohol gel is certainly better than nothing at all… even if your kids think you may be a little obsessive.

Podcast: Hand Hygiene
Written by Amy Simonne and Donna Davis

Listening, learning and living together, it’s the science of life. “Family Album” is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences and of WUFT-FM. If you’d like to learn more, please visit our website at familyalbumradio.org.

Reference

“Hand Hygiene and Hand Sanitizers”, Simonne, A.; The Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Publication: April 2005. EDIS Publication FCS8788. Please visit the EDIS Web site at
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

Resources

Proper Hand Washing for Caregivers

Proper Hand Washing for School Children

Proper Hand Washing for Food Handlers

Proper Hand Washing for Elders