American Hygiene

Our American culture is wondrous in its ability to change, so maybe we can affect a change to the positive. One change I would like to see is when we wash our hands.

We need to wash our hands before we eat, not just after...

Americans regularly don't wash hands before eating. Take a moment to consider what your hands touch each hour before dining. Then consider what else has come in contact with all that your hands have touched.

At any point in time, a typical hand will host 800,000 - 1,000,000 active bacteria. Not all of those little organisms will be bad, some are essential to your hand/fingernail ecosystem.

But the most recent arrivals to your hands (from shoe soles or door knobs touched by those who skipped a wash in the restroom or bird dropping residue on the car) should be sent packing before you touch any food or utensil. This goes double before eating the typical fast food that requires extensive use of your hands.

A wash (or two) with plain soap and warm water is all that's needed. There is no need for special germ killing or anti-bacterial soap as this has been shown to perform no better than a good wash with plain soap and may increase bacterial resistance.

It's a lesson I've taught my children. There are good sites on the web that can help you instruct your children.

It's a lesson that doesn't need teaching in cultures in Africa, Asia and much of Europe. Unfortunately, the American Way is spreading with American movies and television. The world is learning our way where a wash pot at the table or a trip to the washroom before dining 1) is not cool, 2) is strange, or 3) is old fashioned. I was on an international air carrier a few months ago and was mortified that the attendants handed out the warm towel for hand cleaning ... after the meal.

It is time to make a change. As we feel the need to change the law each time a bad burger or spinach crop is found, it is time to first change personal habits ... and then change our institutions to cut down on the hundreds of thousands of bacterial illnesses that don't make the news.

Wash-up before you eat. Just one warning ... take care to leave the restroom without making your hands dirtier than when you entered ... but that's the topic of another rant.

Links:

Hand Washing in Daycare (FoodSafetyGov)
Hand Washing in Hospitals (CDC) (Essay)
Hand Washing in Food Service (FightBak) PDF
Hand Washing in Healing Arts

article: American Hygiene by Warren Jones