GLOBAL HANDWASHING DAY | New SCA-research reveals that only a fifth of all parents in the UK ensure that their child’s hands are washed before eating. “Children’s hands can be especially dirty, and at school they are more likely to pick up infections; as well as transmit them to others,” explains Professor Norman Noah from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
When your child should wash hands:
- After travelling to and from school on public transport;
- Before and after eating school or packed lunches;
- After playing games or sport;
- After sneezing and blowing noses;
- After going to the toilet.
How to develop your child's hand hygiene habits:
- Be a role model, wash your and your child's hands at the same time. And do it right!
- Tech your children hand washing from as early an age as possible;
- Make a game of hand washing;
- Make it easy for your children to reach the sink;
- Make hand-washing fun with bright and colourful soaps;
- Reward your children every time they successfully initiate hand washing.
|
Other key findings were that
- Over a third (34,3%) of adults are still not washing their hands regularly enough;
- 72% of the UK believes that children should be able to play and get a little dirty without having to worry about hygiene;
- Only 27,1% of the UK wash their hands after travelling on public transport;
- Less than half of the UK population (44,4%) wash their hands after sneezing or blowing their nose (London: 51,1%, Wales: 32,7%);
- Whilst 93,2% claim to wash their hands after using public toilets, but only 8.3% believe that others actually do wash their hands after using a public restroom.
“Most people know that hand washing prevents gastrointestinal infections, but they forget that it can also prevent respiratory infection. With the UK population currently being warned against the risk of cross contamination, regular hand washing becomes even more essential to curtails the spread of germs,” elaborates Professor Norman Noah.
School children wear nappies
With Britain as one of the worst-hit countries in the world when it comes to the number of swine-flu victims, SCA’s hygiene research was backed by other findings this summer:
- Hospital campaigners claim that more patients are dying because of low ward hygiene standards (The Press and Journal, 2009-08-13);
- A BBC investigation revealed that hotel bath hygiene levels are low. (BBC Newsnight, 2009-07-30). The Check Safety First warned hoteliers in the UK that they need to take health and safety issues seriously or risk losing repeat business (Globally, 2009-08-14);
- Yet another study that the number of children starting school and still wearing nappies has risen dramatically (Daily Express, 2009-08-02).
British media alarmed
Consequently the headlines in British media engaged in alarming the public to make a change:
- “Shower-shy Britons prove a washout” (Independent Minds, 2009-08-09)
- “Dirty” Brits shower only once a week” (Daily Express, 2009-08-09)
- “Britain is behind in wash poll” (Shropshire STAR, 2009-08-10)
- “A ‘grubby’ but honest lot here in Mid Wales” (Pony’s County Times, 2009-08-21)
- “17% of men shower only twice a week. Yuck” (More!, 2009-09-07)
- “Britons’ dirty secret is out” (The Scotsman, 2009-08-10)
This hygiene situation picture might not be typical only for the UK, but for all European countries. It reminds us that we should be concerned about hygiene standards not only in developing contries but in our own countries too.
Text Konstantin C Irina