On Healthy Living

I love surveys that try to figure out how many peopel actually wash their hands after doing things that you should probably wash your hands after. I guess that’s because the idea of cameras in public bathrooms kind of freaks me out, but I love that people say they wash their hands more than they actually do.

In a new survey by Harris Interactive, 91 percent of adults contacted in a telephone poll said they wash their hands every time after going to the bathroom, but in observations in public bathrooms in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and San Francisco, only 83 percent actually did.

That’s up from 78 percent observed the last time this study was done in 2003. It comes as no surprise to me that men are less likely than women to wash their hands after doing their business, and they’re less likely to report that they do. And the rise in hand washers came almost entirely from women; about 90 percent of all women observed washed their hands.

In the phone survey, people were also asked if they washed their hands other times. Eighty-three percent said they washed their hands after using the bathroom at home, 77 percent before eating or handling food, 73 percent after changing a diaper, 42 percent after petting an animal, 32 percent after coughing or sneezing and 21 percent after handling money.

The World Health Organization says that hand washing could significantly cut down on the spread of infection in hospitals and the outside world. Especially in this time of cold and flu, it’s worth the friendly reminder: wash those hands!

Sarah White wrote this on December 15th, 2005 and filed it under Healthy Living, Women's Health, Men's Health, Health & Aging |