I was standing at the urinal in a North Quad bathroom, minding my own business while doing my business. A fellow student stepped out from the nearby stall. He bypassed the sink and headed straight for the door. As he reached for the handle, he glanced over his shoulder to see if I was looking.
I shot back an incredulous stare that asked, "Are you seriously not going to wash your hands?" He paused for a moment, knowing he had been caught.
This was a modern-day Wild West showdown. A tumbleweed dramatically rolled by.
Instead of a pistol, he clutched the bathroom door handle while I clutched - well, it doesn't really matter what I was clutching because he turned and left the restroom without washing his damn hands.
Last week was National Clean Hands Week, which coincides with the changing of the seasons because of the significant increase in cold and flu cases during the fall and winter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that hand washing is "the single most important thing we can do to keep from getting sick and spreading illness to others."
Not washing your hands has serious consequences. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine states that American schoolchildren miss an astonishing 189 million school days due to colds and flu, which causes 126 million workdays to be missed by parents.
The study also estimates the common cold costs the U.S. economy a staggering $40 billion each year. Visits to the doctor, purchases of prescriptions and over-the-counter remedies and lost work due to having a cold or caring for a sick child are all figured into this astronomical total.
Through observational research in August 2005, the American Society for Microbiology and the Soap and Detergent Association discovered that only 83 percent of public restroom users wash their hands when another person is present. An earlier study observed that in major cities, only 68 percent washed their hands.
It is plausible that those who do not wash their hands have had poor hygiene practices all their lives. Congruent with this notion, a study published in Infectious Diseases in Children troublingly found fecal coliforms on the hands of one in five day-care staff members, leading several bewildered children to ask, "Why do my animal crackers taste funny?"
While any form of hand washing is better than none, there is a preferred method that is cited by various organizations as the most effective.
First, wet your hands prior to applying bar or liquid soap. Second, apply the soap and scrub your hands vigorously. Wash all surfaces, including the oft-neglected areas under the nails.
Continue to scrub for 10 to 15 seconds - for those of us with a poor sense of time, this is about how long it takes to sing "Happy Birthday to You" twice.
Rinse well and dry your hands, preferably with a disposable paper towel.
Use the towel to turn off the tap and open the door - unwashed hands have been in contact with both. Discard the towel in a nearby receptacle.
I have a simple idea to make this world a better and healthier place. Let's celebrate National Clean Hands Week every week of the year instead of only in late September. I'm not lecturing you like your mother; I'm imploring you as a friend.
It all comes down to a grubby variation of the Golden Rule: I don't want your fecal coliforms ending up on my hands, and I don't want my fecal coliforms ending up on yours.
I don't think that's too much to ask of members of a civilized society.
Please, wash your hands.
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