Keep Those Hands Clean

The other day as I walked my 8-year-old daughter to school, she slipped her hand into mine, an endearing gesture any father would treasure. Except--my lovely daughter’s hand was filthy!

You know those youngsters; they feel the bark on every tree. My daughter can’t walk by a parked car without running her fingers through its dust.

The irony is, my wife and I are almost fanatics about hand washing. I was ready to hold myself up as the pristine example of cleanliness.

To my surprise, it turns out I’m not washing my hands often enough either.

The National Center for Infectious Diseases reports that few of us wash our hands as many times a day as we should. Or as thoroughly as we should.

Here’s a bold statement from its latest report on the subject: “The most important thing you can do to keep from getting sick is to wash your hands.”

Giving that statement a strong salute is Orange County Health Officer Dr. Mark B. Horton.

“We’ve got a major job on our hands, convincing people we could drastically reduce illness through better hand washing,” Horton said.

Just one example: The National Center for Infectious Diseases estimates that one of three people do not wash their hands after leaving a restroom.

Get outta here! I’ve seen men leave without washing, but I’ve always had it in my head that women always wash afterward.

But Orange County’s Horton said the wash-skippers may be even higher than the national center estimates. “It’s a habit we have to reinforce more,” he said.

It’s not the dirt we’re after. It’s the germs. What you cannot see with the naked eye.

Horton points out: “We used to associate the spread of respiratory illnesses, like influenza or colds, from sneezing or coughing. But we now know that most of them are spread through germs on our hands. We reach for a doorknob, or touch other surfaces with germs. Then we go to our mouth or nose with our hands.”

Now here’s a key word some of us won’t like so much: soap.

Both Horton and the national center emphasize there’s a significant difference in combating germs between washing with soap and just washing with water. Yes, I wash up after I leave a restroom. But if I’m at work, in a hurry, I don’t always use soap. Hot water alone cannot rid your hands of germs, the national center reports.

Here are some of its suggestions on when to wash your hands:

* Before, while and after you prepare food.

* Before you eat, and after you use the bathroom.

* After handling animals or animal waste.

* Any time you feel your hands are sticky or dirty.

* Any time anyone in your home is sick, or you change a diaper.

In other words, at least a dozen times a day.

Here’s another piece of advice from the national center:

Yes, soap is good. But scrub! It’s the combination of soaping and scrubbing that removes germs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration brings up another touchy subject related to hand washing: diarrhea. Improved hand washing, it says in a new report, could cut diarrheal outbreaks in half.

Which brings me back to my daughter. Teaching children, Horton says, raises the whole issue to a new level. Schools need to encourage hand washing more. Parents need to make soap available. Says Horton:

“Because they use their hands for everything.”

*

Readers can reach Hicks by calling (714) 966-7789 or e-mail to jerry.hicks@latimes.com.