Just came out of the ladies room at my office, and it got me thinking. But first, some background…
In my latest incarnation as a Nursing Student, one of the concepts being drilled into my head is about hygiene and good sanitary technique, particularly, handwashing. There is a preference in the medical world for hands to be free of germs, debris, and most if not all naturally occuring microflora and microfauna. I have learned proper technique and, even though I’m still in the workaday business world, I use it. Mostly this involves the following steps:
Turn on hot water.
Dispense paper towels and set aside.
Dispense soap onto hands.
Dampen hands, work soap into lather.
Rub vigorously on all surfaces of hands, up to wrists or elbows, as situation merits. Continue for minimum 15-30 seconds, up to 2 minutes depending on what you’ve just handled.
Rinse lather from hands and forearms, keeping fingers pointed down into sink.
Using a paper towel, turn off faucet.
Using a new paper towel(s), dry hands thoroughly.
Dispose of towels.
As you can see, a somewhat more complicated routine than the usual ‘turn on water, dampen fingers and palms, turn off water, wipe on trousers’ that I often witness. All too frequently, I see people not even do that! Do they not understand about microbe transmission? And therein lies the question – how much is an acceptable amount of handwashing in a regular (non-medical, non-chemical) workplace?
I have the feeling my coworkers who’ve witnessed my act but don’t know that I’m also a nursing student whisper behind my back about ‘that girl who’s neurotic about washing her hands’, but at the same time, I think, “Ewww, that lady just pooped and didn’t even turn on the faucet afterwards”. So, what would be an optimum hand cleansing routine following a trip to the loo?
FWIW, I’ve worked in clinical labs, vet offices, and the like, and have found
if the water is sufficiently hot, and the soap antibacterial, you don’t have a great deal to worry about
that dispensing paper towels BEFORE washing is a good idea for anyone, esp. during cold season
3)that seemingly astute professionals, even when dealing with nasty shit, don’t always take the proper precautions.
I saw a medical doctor, after performing hepatitis assays (samples from a patient who was described as having “severe vaginal and clitoral ulceration w/discharge”) unglove and go to lunch without washing. Didn’t seem too worried about it.
Just make sure your water’s hot and scrub for about ten seconds. This should remove any nastiness from your hands and won’t make your cow-orkers think you have OCD.
(Of course, when faced with a public restroom of spurious cleanliness, I’ve been known to skip washing altogether.My reasoning? “My genitals are cleaner than that sink and faucet handle”. Then, as soon as I get back to my desk, I wipe off with acetone computer wipes)
My daughter was born almost 5 weeks early and was in the NICU ward of the hospital and we had to wash our hands for 3 minutes (No less. The faucets were automatic and were on a timer!) before we were allowed in the NICU. During that 3 minutes we were supposed to use plenty of betadine solution and wash all the way up to our elbows. I can understand the reason for this though. They didn’t want any germs on your hands/arms because the babies in the NICU are more susceptible to infections and such.
In a regular work situation (considering your not in the medical field or working with food) I would say washing your hands with hot water and soap for 30 seconds is sufficient. That’s what I do at work and at home anyway. You’d be surprised how much hand washing will cut down on you catching a cold. It’s a good habit to teach your kids too. I make my daughter wash her hands every time she goes potty. My son’s a little too young for it so he gets anti-bacterial hand gel!
I wish my friend’s boss would get a clue about this.
Friend has told me many times that her boss NEVER washes her hands after using the restroom. :eek:
She will, however, stand there and watch employees wash their hands. The folks in the office now refuse to eat anything the boss brings to a party, because who knows what’s going on in her kitchen?
You’re not going to get people to wash long enough for clean-technique, so anything is a help. I empahsize how few cold my family and I suffer due to frequent handwashing and use of antibacterial gel that I carry in my purse and car. We went to a picnic in a local park and my kids asked for the gel after visiting the public restroom that was of course out of soap and towels. Bath and Body Works sells lots of different fragrances with an 62% ethyl alcohol base, and Purell hand sanitizer has moisturizers and Vitamin E. Please don’t eat anything if you are at all suspicious about the cleanliness of the preparer’s hands. A little E. Coli goes a long way.
Interesting thread. I just did a report and presentation for my Anatomy class on the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. I came across a study on handwashing, and it had some interesting results.
The CDC found little or no difference in the bacterial count between hands washed with regular soap and those with Triclosan added (which is the commonly used antibiotic in home hand soaps). They also recommended that when you wash your hands, you use warm water, rub for at least 20 seconds, and get the backs of your hands, the wrists and inbetween the fingers – the areas most likely to be missed. When you’re done, pat (don’t rub) your hands dry and use a moisturizer. If you rub your hands too vigoroursly when drying them, you’ll wipe off the oils, which will dry your hands and make them more susceptible to cracking. The bacteria then prosper in the cracks of the skin. They also recommended the use of antibacterial gels with alcohol, since the alcohol evaporates without taking oils with it and the alcohol is quite certain to kill germs.
In my microbiology class a million years ago, one of our projects was to collect bacteria from some place in the building and grow tham in a culture. You wouldn’t believe how many different and profuse germs live on the bathroom fixtures.
In a public restroom, I always flush the toilet with my foot. I won’t touch the sink handle for any reason; I’ll use paper towels. In bathrooms with no paper towels, I’ll operate the sink with my elbow. As a nurse, I’ve retained the fundamental fear of germs they instilled in us in school.
At home, I disinfect the doorknobs, faucet knobs, toilet handle, phone, computer mouse, switchplates etc. All of these things are frequently touched by human hands. I’m not too anal about it (ha ha! No pun intended). We all need a few germs to give our immune systems something to do. Still, I prefer not to consume a stranger’s feces.
What annoys me is when I’m at work, and I go into the restroom and find there’s no soap. I mention it to whoever’s at the front desk, so they can call to have it refilled and they look at me like I’m nitpicky!
I remember working at a grocery store, and I was collecting the trash. Our office person-a real bitch-told me she’d take the trash back for me, but I refused, since I was like, “Well, I have to wash my hands, so I’ll just do it.” She just rolled her eyes like I was so fussy. Um…yeah, I’m gonna not wash my hands after handling trash and then bag groceries. Get real, honey!
I’m currently working on a matter at a large law firm downtown. One of the conference rooms they had us in was on the same floor as the firm’s cafeteria. In the men’s room on that floor, they have a sign that says: “Dining Room Employees Must Wash Hands Before Leaving This Room.”
Every time I saw the sign, it made me think along the lines of: “What about everyone else? It’s nice that they care about the hygene of their food service employees, but shouldn’t they be concerned about everyone else as well? Is there some reason why lawyers don’t have to wash?”
At our local movie theater, to wash your hands, the only thing you must touch is the soap dispenser.
Dispense soap, put hands under water faucet, and warm water starts flowing. Scrub hands, rinse, then go to the air dryer, which also activates automatically when hands are under it. My brother says the new sinks at the school administration building where he works actually have automatic soap dispensers (the faucets dispense soapy water for the first twenty seconds, followed by clean water for rinsing. A completely no-touch solution. I think I’ve developed a case of lavatory envy.
A person after my own heart. Even my office, which is moderately clean, I tend not to like to touch the faucet handles, soap dispensor,(YECH!) and for that matter, door handle. As I enter I grab a towel, hold on to it with the hand I use to unzip, and open the door with it on the way out. At my desk I have sanitary wipes. So call me Obsessive Compulsive.
I’ve been asked why I don’t wash my hands after urinating and I always say “because I don’t piss on them”. Your explanation is a little more genteel, and I think I’ll begin using it instead of mine. Thanks!
Number Six: I have seen those faucets at my local Kohler showroom- I too lust after the automatic sink.
b.
We have the automatic sinks at work. They’re not that great. The water is supposed to turn on automatically when you wave your hands under the faucet. The soap dispensers, while built into the sinks, are not automatic. One problem is that there are a few sinks whose automatic dispensers don’t work. Also, outsiders keep coming along with mindsets that assume that one must do something to cause the water to flow. So they grab the soap nozzle and twist it brutally, trying to turn the water on.
I’ve noticed over the years that a lot of people do not wash their hands after “answering nature’s call”. They just walk out the door, even when others are there to witness their lapse. But many people are evidently sufficiently concerned about other peoples’ opinion that they will fake it. They get their hands wet (fully or partially), but use no soap.
I really enjoy washing my hands. I find it relaxing. And the longer I do it the better I feel (my stress level from another thread was 0%) And they smell so nice and are so smooth afterwards.
And for people who don’t wash? ewww There’s a brilliant Far Side about them. Guy walks out of bathroom, bells, alarms wistles go off and a large blinking flourescent sign starts flashing “Didn’t Wash Hands” Then people would do it.
I heard a report on NPR’s All Things Considered one day several months ago about an informal survey that was done in the men’s and lady’s rooms at a major league ball park, possibly Turner Field in Atlanta. The male and female survey takers selected an interval of time to stand in the restrooms and as unobtrusively as possible, observe people’s handwashing behavior. I don’t remember the exact numbers, and will have to check around to see if I can find who sponsored the study (I think maybe CDC, but my cursory search didn’t find it the first go), but as I recall, 81% of men did not wash their hands prior to leaving the restroom. Figures for women were either 1/3 did wash or 1/3 did not wash, a surprisingly low rate either way. Possibly, however, they subscribed to “My genitals are cleaner than that faucet” school of though - I’ve not been to TF since it was FulCo so I can’t comment on the cleanliness of their faciities.
As others have mentioned, I too notice who washes and who doesn’t, and avoid eating anything the non-washers bring in.
I refuse to touch public bathroom fixtures. I carry around a small bottle of disenfectant hand sanitizer, and use that. I also wrap a paper towel around the door handle before I open the door (to avoid the germs of those who did not wash.)
I’ll agree that a good portion of people don’t understand the value of clean hands. I worked at McDonald’s as a kid, and I took the training seriously. I washed my hands frequently (to the amusement and amazement of my fellow co-workers) and would go over to the liquid hand sanitizer dispenser every time I touched money before I handled the food. My manager actually YELLED at me for taking the time to sanitize my hands after handling money. He said I didn’t have the time “for all that crap” and just to grab the food and shove it into a bag. Once, I was mopping the floor when we had a huge amount of customers come in. I went behind the counter, and went straight for the santizer dispenser, but my manager grabbed me around the shoulders and sent me over to the friers, snarling that being Little Miss Germ-Free was making everyone else’s job harder, slowing everyone down, and to stop being such a priss.
For this very reason, I’ve quit participating in office pot-luck parties. When I see the way certain folks keep their work area, I shudder to think what their kitchens look like…
Growing up with a nurse for a mom instilled in me some sort of primal urge to wash my hands after touching anything in a bathroom. I do carry antibacterial wipes with me but generally wash with the soap and water already there. I use the “get a paper towel first” method and use it to dispense other towels, turn on the water and soap. I learned the correct handwashing technique from nursing school that stressed cleaning all areas of the hand (it’s amazing what you don’t realize you skip) and not accidentally re-soiling your hands. One thing they told us: if you go to a restaurant and there is no soap in the restrooms, turn around and walk out. They did a little demonstration using red dye on their hands to show how easy it was to spread germs from person to person.
This would be a good page to print and hang on the bathroom wall at work:
Lissa - I can’t believe your manager yelled at you for doing exactly what you were supposed to do! I wonder if he has ever heard of Little Miss Health Department?
Michelle
Seriously reconsidering whether to eat at McDonald’s ever again.
I’m the travel guru for a chemical company that makes all sorts of products for industrial/commercial lavatories. Our sales-folks are trying to sell the idea of a “touch-free” lavatory. We have one here where I work!
And there is a touch-free lavatory in the grocery store where I shop.
The toilets and urinals flush automatically, water comes on when you put your hands under the spigot, soap is dispensed when a hand is placed under the spout, and paper towels are dispensed by waving your hand in front of a sensor. The wastebin does not have a “trapdoor” to touch.
No doors to touch either! Two offset walls separate you from the outside world so that you have to walk around them in an “S” fashion to enter/exit.
Unfortunately, folks here at work don’t take advantage of it. I’ve seen board members use the facilities, and then just touch the underside of the spigot quickly to pick up a few drops of water.
Needless to say… I ain’t shaking hands around here anymore!
I can’t add much except to agree with what’s already been said. Add me to the list of those who turn on the faucet with a paper towel. I also don’t eat stuff that people bring in at work, especially those who don’t wash their hands in the bathroom, or those who are constantly sick.
I’m starting to see more public bathrooms with the automatic sensors at toilets and urinals, and also at the faucets. I wish every public bathroom could be like the one where GrizzRich works.
To continue along the same lines, what about hotels? Has anyone ever seen those news specials where they go around a hotel room with an ultraviolet light? Yuck! If I ever have to stay in a hotel, I pack Lysol and spray everything. Switches, the bathroom, the TV remote. Hotel rooms are truly disgusting.
And don’t forget gas stations! I have Purell in the car for use after pumping gas. The Exxon stations in my area have sanitizer dispensers mounted on all the pump islands.