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“There is no act of life so dangerous to others,” fumed physician Robert Eccles in 1909, “as carelessness concerning the condition of our hands.” He really meant it. In a seven-page rant titled “Dirty Hands,” published in the Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette of New York City, Eccles blamed filthy fingers for the deadliest crimes of the age.
Causing more deaths than “bullets, poisons, railway accidents and earthquakes combined,” the human hand was a weapon of mass destruction that extinguished innocent lives by the hour, according to this Brooklyn-based doctor. And Eccles was fighting back.…..Story continues…
By: Sabrina Sholts Curator, Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History
Source: Smithsonian.
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Critics:
A number of infectious diseases can be spread from one person to another by contaminated hands. These diseases include gastrointestinal infections, such as salmonellosis, and respiratory infections, such as influenza, colds and coronavirus (COVID-19). Some bacteria can stay on hands even after washing, and it can spread to cloth towels during the drying step. To avoid this, make sure your hands are washed with soap and warm water for 20 seconds and thoroughly rinsed before you dry them.
Unwashed human hands harbour a wide variety of surface microorganisms. Some of these organisms could be human pathogens with the potential to cause an outbreak of foodborne illness. While sneezing and coughing help to spread illnesses, poor hand washing techniques are a big culprit as well. Common respiratory illnesses caused by poor hand hygiene include the common cold, influenza, chicken pox and meningitis.
Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose and mouth and make us sick. Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of foods or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick. Washing hands can keep you healthy and prevent the spread of respiratory and diarrheal infections.
Germs can spread from person to person or from surfaces to people when you: Touch your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Prepare or eat food and drinks with unwashed hands. Our hands carry on average 3,200 different germs belonging to more than 150 species – of which some can be harmful and cause infection – and improved handwashing technique can reduce their transmission.
Use plenty of warm water, liquid hand soap, and a soft cloth to work off remaining grime and the abrasives used in hand cleaners. The more patient you are, the longer you wash, the more the remaining dirt will be washed away. From a person’s style of thinking to their degree of delusional optimism, the need to feel “normal” and the potency of their feelings of disgust, a number of psychological factors are subliminally discouraging people from washing their hands.
The average human hand houses 150 different kinds of bacteria. There are typically between 10,000 and 10 million bacteria on each of your hands. Most germs can survive on your hands for three hours. Besides coughing and sneezing, door handles are the most likely way that cold viruses spread. Ocular syphilis isn’t the only STD you can get in your eyes either, as gonorrhea, herpes, and chlamydia have also been known to infect the eyes. That means that yes, dirty hands could give you an STD.
Human hands are a conduit for exchanging microorganisms between the environment and the body. Hands can harbor pathogenic species, including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Escherichia coli; particularly within high risk environments, such as healthcare and food-handling settings. Staphylococcal (Staph) Food Poisoning. People who carry the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (Staph), which is commonly found on the skin, can contaminate food if they don’t wash their hands before touching it.
One of the most common diseases that result from poor hand hygiene is gastrointestinal infections, such as norovirus and salmonella. These illnesses are often caused by consuming contaminated food or water, which may occur when someone with dirty hands handles food. It is simply because of the soap you are using. This is because it only cleans the top layer of dirt and does not pull through dirt that has been absorbed in the pores.
If regular soap is not cutting it, here are 2 hand tips; some ways to get the grime off your hands: Sugar – Yes, raw sugar. Soap and water are effective at removing germs and harmful substances from your hands. Hand sanitizer kills some types of germs. You should opt for soap and water whenever possible because it’s better than hand sanitizer at: Getting rid of certain germs that can make you very sick, like norovirus and C.
Cold germs can live on surfaces for up to one week, but they lose effectiveness after the first 24 hours. Cold germs on your hands can live for up to one hour. The influenza (flu) virus can live for up to 24 to 48 hours on hard surfaces. The coronavirus can live from a few hours to a few days. What if I have water but no soap to wash my hands? If you don’t have soap and water, use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
If you don’t have hand sanitizer or soap, but do have water, rub your hands together under the water and dry them with a clean towel or air dry. If you don’t wash your hands when they’re germy, you could pass those germs to friends and family and get them sick. If you get them on an object — like a doorknob or handrail — you could infect people you don’t even know. Make sure to lather up after you use the bathroom.
Dr. Cullins warns, “Anything that brings bacteria in contact with the vulva and/or urethra can cause a UTI. This can happen when germs enter the urethra during sex, unwashed hands touching genitals, or even when toilet water back splashes.” Yeah, you can get a UTI from the bacteria in toilet water back splash. Cleansing and exfoliating your skin is the best way to remove built-up dirt from your skin, but there’s one other crucial step to make sure not to leave out of your routine — moisturizer.
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