Do you realise how important hand washing is?

Allow me to start this blog with a bit of history.

Have you heard the story of Mary Mallon aka Typhoid Mary? Well, it goes a bit like this. In the 1800’s, scientists determined that a microorganism caused the spread of typhoid fever, and the source of this contamination was traced back to Mary Mallon who was a cook for various families during that time.

Mary evaded attempts at police capture but was eventually captured and tested, and banned from cooking for people. Problem solved, right? No! This did not stop the spread of the typhoid disease.

“Nobody knows if Mary washed her hands or not, but the fact is that the majority of typhoid cases today are preventable through the use of safe water, adequate sanitation, vaccination, and, most sustainable of all, simple hygienic behaviour, such as thorough hand washing with soap.” 

Now back to my blog that has absolutely nothing to do with Typhoid Fever but everything to do with hand hygiene.

How can you prevent the spread of germs?

Winter is fast approaching, and with this season comes a multitude of sicknesses, like the common cold and flu which can spread like wildfire. This is especially true in workplaces like call centres, banks, educare centres or care homes, to name a few.

Basically, anywhere there are a number of people working or living closely together, or where a number of people tend to handle the same things like money, or share the same things like hand towels, and so on.

So let’s answer the simple question of how one can prevent the spread of germs in the workplace or living place.

1. Wash your hands

The first and possibly the most important and easiest is … Hand washing

Washing your hands with soap is still one of the most effective ways of minimising the risk of spreading illnesses such as the common cold and flu viruses. We know this, so why are some people still not doing it?

Poor hand hygiene remains one of the biggest causes of cross-contamination and the spread of all sorts of illnesses in offices, schools, care homes, etc.

Here’s a reminder of the basic hand hygiene rules from our previous blog post to prevent the spread of germs this winter:

• Wash your hands properly (20 – 25 seconds) and often with soap and water, and remember to dry your hands thoroughly too.
• If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser. Remember Covid-19? Keep carrying your hand sanitiser with you and use it when necessary.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Regularly clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces that could be contaminated with the flu virus or other germs, especially shared or co-working spaces.
• Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze, using a thick tissue or your arm — NOT your hands which will then contaminate everything you touch. Make sure to wash or sanitise your hands immediately afterwards.
• Dispose of used tissues.
• Self-isolate if you have any cold or flu symptoms. Read more about the cost of absenteeism here.

While hand washing is really important to us here in Initial Hygiene, so is the sustainability of our environment. Find out more about our bio-enzyme soaps that are kind to the skin and the environment.

2. Dry your hands

Equally important as hand washing is hand drying, because damp hands harbour bacteria.

Even if you wash your hands vigorously after using the bathroom, if you don’t dry them thoroughly afterwards, your efforts could be in vain.

Damp hands are 1000 times more likely to spread bacteria than dry hands. You can read our previous blog about the 4 reasons why drying your hands is so important. It’s also important to think about how you’re drying your hands. Are you still using re-usable towels? Those towels that always seem damp and icky? They can harbour millions of bacteria so if possible opt for disposable paper towels or a hand dryer with a HEPA filter (such as Initial’s Luna hand dryer) for your workplace.

3. Germs travel

The problem with germs is they never stay in one place. They get around faster than a one year old who has mastered the art of crawling or snatching food off your plate at dinner time.

The problem with not washing your hands is that you then transfer germs to everything you touch. You may not think this sounds like a big deal but studies have found:

• The average kitchen chopping board has around 200% more faecal bacteria on it than a toilet seat does.
• Handbags can carry up to 10,000 bacteria per square inch. 30% of bags tested were found to have faecal bacteria on them.
• Smartphones can carry more than 30,000 bacteria units per swab. Read our post: Do you use your phone in the bathroom?
• The average office desk has 400 times more bacteria on it than a toilet seat does.
• The average keyboard can also contain more bacteria than a toilet seat. (Read our post: 5 ways to keep your laptop clean). If you’re battling to do this, Initial Hygiene provides a techno hygiene service to keep your IT equipment hygienically clean and sanitised.
• 26,000 live bacteria can be found on the average banknote.
• Over 1,000 different germs can live on hands. These can include pathological (harmful) bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus (an opportunistic pathogen that can cause serious infection), and Escherichia coli (which can cause severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhoea, and vomiting) as well as viruses which cause the common cold,  influenza, or even the norovirus, which causes viral gastroenteritis.

Take a look at how easily germs can spread in the workplace.

In conclusion, don’t be a ‘Typhoid Mary’ – prevent the spread of germs. Please remember to wash your hands! Get in touch with the experts in hygiene should your workplace need hand washing or drying services. We’ll help you prevent cross-contamination and stop the spread of germs!

Author: Peta Florus

Peta is the Marketing Analyst at Rentokil Initial. She has over the years been exposed to all aspects of both the hygiene and pest businesses, sometimes in too much gruesome detail. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and experiences by adding a humorous twist to her blogs while subtly creating awareness around the benefits of good hygiene, and inspiring people to take up the hygiene challenge and combat germs and pests at home and in the workplace. You can find Peta on Linkedin.