Canadians come clean on hygiene habits

Have you ever seen the Seinfeld episode where George eats a chocolate éclair out of the garbage, and his girlfriend’s mother walks into the kitchen to catch him? It’s extra hilarious as George had initially made a great first impression with his gentlemanly demeanour – but that quickly falls apart when his true self is revealed.

Deep down, many of us have an odd behaviour or bad habit we prefer to keep secret.  Probably the most common (especially amongst men) is not washing hands after using the washroom. Admit it; there is nothing more uncomfortable than witnessing someone walk out of a washroom stall without washing his or her hands. I’m sure you’ve been in this situation more than once, and you are not alone. In fact, a recent microbiology survey revealed that 92% of people say they wash their hands after using the restroom – but only 66% actually do.

If you do the math, about 10 million Canadians (age 15 & older) don’t bother to wash their hands after using the restroom. Even for the 14 million Canadians who do wash their hands, they actually only use water and don’t bother with the soap. While water is powerful at rinsing away dirt, it cannot easily remove soil or organisms that are attached to the hands. Soap can do this effectively, maximizing the rinsing benefit of the water. Also, drying your hands with a cloth or paper towel is very important for additional bacterial removal.

Despite all the media about the latest superbugs or emerging microbial illness – for whatever reason, many of us don’t seem to care that much about washing hands. Just like George Costanza we stick with our old bad habits and hope we won’t get exposed. I mean, what’s wrong with a few germs anyway?

"The good news is that hand washing is basically a 'do-it-yourself' vaccine."

Well, you might be surprised to learn that 80% of communicable diseases are spread by touch (hands and surfaces). When you consider that more than 24 million Canadians are not practicing proper hand hygiene – you get a better sense of the microbial risk that can potentially affect you personally. 

The good news is that hand washing is basically a 'do-it-yourself' vaccine. Just a few simple steps will help you from getting sick and stop the spread of germs to others. Here are some resources on how to wash your hands correctly.

If you made it to end of this article and you’re a fan of Seinfeld, here’s a fun hand washing fail clip to enjoy!

References

The number of men who secretly don't wash their hands after using the bathroom would horrify you https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/number-men-who-secretly-don-t-wash-their-hands-after-ncna870436

People Aren’t Washing Their Hands as Much as You Hope, New Survey Shows https://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-you/health/hand-washing-survey/

America's Dirty Little Secret: Second Handwashing Survey Reveals Americans Still Don't Get It https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/09/000919080326.htm

The Gymnast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gymnast

Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/index.html