Most people wash their hands for about six seconds. It takes twenty
When researchers quietly watched over 3,700 people in public washrooms, only one in twenty washed long enough to kill germs.
Researchers from Michigan State University sat in public washrooms in a college town and quietly observed 3,749 people as they finished up. They weren't looking for anything dramatic, just what people actually did at the sink.
The results were a little alarming. About one in ten people didn't wash their hands at all. A third didn't use soap. On average, people washed for about six seconds. Only 5% washed for 15 seconds or more, the minimum the researchers counted as long enough to properly kill the germs that cause stomach and chest infections. Men were worse than women on every measure.
Washing hands properly with soap and water is one of the cheapest, most effective ways to prevent diarrhoea and respiratory infections, which remain some of the commonest reasons children in India fall ill. Soap works by breaking apart the oily outer layer of many germs and lifting them off the skin, but it needs time and friction to do it.
The twenty-second wash - Wet your hands, then apply soap. - Rub palms together, then the backs of your hands, between the fingers, the backs of the fingers, the thumbs and under the nails. - Keep going for 20 seconds. Humming "Happy Birthday" twice is the classic timer. - Rinse well and dry with a clean towel. Wet hands pick up and spread germs more easily. - Wash before cooking and eating, after the toilet, after changing a nappy, after coughing into your hands, and when you come home from outside.
Where this comes from - Borchgrevink CP, Cha J, Kim S. Hand washing practices in a college town environment. Journal of Environmental Health, 2013. - World Health Organization and UNICEF guidance on handwashing with soap.
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