Break the Germ Cycle – Morning Sign Out at UCI

Written by Elizabeth Montoya and Edited by Rasheed Majzoub

As human beings, we use our senses to go about our everyday life. This includes our various senses: using our nose to smell, eyes to see, ears to hear, and our hands for touch. Our hands are used for everything, from touching foreign objects to picking them up. We are always on the go with our busy lives to the point that we never focus on minor details such as washing our hands. This minor detail can make a huge difference in our society.

Our hands are the key to passing along germs acquired from people and foreign objects to other living beings. By washing our hands, we decrease the chance of illnesses and spread of disease by 50% because human beings are constantly touching their face, eyes, and mouth without realizing it, as well as passing along germs in the food that others consume [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 2.2 million lives are lost because of infections – more than the deaths caused by malaria, HIV/AIDS, and measles combined [2]. There are numerous diseases that are transferred by skin to skin contact, including chickenpox, cold sores, bacterial infection, pneumonia, and toxic shock syndrome. All can be prevented by the simple act of washing your hands [3]. 2.6 billion people do not have adequate sanitation, and many do not know how to properly wash their hands, which costs the medical industry, and by extension, the populace, billions of dollars every year [4].

Once upon a time, handwashing was not a common practice in medicine or in daily life routines, for example, after using the restroom or before cooking. In 1846, a Hungarian doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis enacted the protocol of handwashing for his medical students to rid of cadaver remains after noticing that the women in the medical students’ maternity ward ere dying more often than those in the midwives’ maternity ward, thus successfully decreasing the mortality rate. However, this practice was not popular in the medical community [4]. Of all the most historical breakthroughs and changes in medicine, the practice of handwashing was not implemented into health care until the late 20th century. The lack of handwashing and ill preparation of food were the largest contributors to disease outbreaks, such as Salmonella outbreaks during the 1980s. Handwashing was implemented as a reaction to foodborne outbreaks and infections [5].

When we are in a rush we may just spend a few seconds washing our hands, but these few seconds are often not enough to rid your hands of dangerous germs. Wetting hands in cold or warm water, and utilizing non-antibacterial soap, is the best method to gain maximal benefits [2]. To clean thoroughly, it is important to scrub hands between the fingers and under the nails for 20 seconds, rinse hands under clean running water and finally dry them with a clean towel or air dry [6].

Handwashing is one of the most momentous breakthroughs in the history of healthcare, public health, and patient care, and yet the human population tends to vastly disregard its benefits. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, washing your hands more often may lead to several doctors keeping away, as well as a few extended hospital visits.

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