After a year and a half of dealing with the Covid pandemic, we have learned that hand hygiene is essential to safeguard your health and that of others. This is because each individual, despite appearances, is not just an individual but an entire ecosystem. Bacteria, viruses, archaea (ancient bacteria) are an integral part of our organism, in fact they modulate and modify its different aspects and on several levels. We often talk about the microbiome and we have already dealt with it on these pages on several occasions. For example, when we presented the scientific blue muffin test to find out if we have a slow metabolism. Or when we revealed what mosquitoes are attracted to and why they bite us.
When we wash our hands, we eliminate the microorganisms that are on them, including those that can make us sick. To do this, however, it is necessary to carry out this operation in a conscious way. In fact, this is the correct way to wash your hands if you really want to get rid of bacteria.
A recent discovery
The habit and the need to wash hands is a relatively recent practice that was not implemented in previous centuries (not even by doctors and healers). One of the first doctors to understand the usefulness of washing hands to avoid infections was Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian, between 1844 and 1848. According to a 2013 article in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, a signed by Irvine Loudon, Dr. Semmelweis worked in a large maternity ward of the Vienna hospital. The department was divided into two parts. On the one hand the midwives worked there, on the other the doctors.
From 1840 to 1846, the mortality rate of mothers in the clinic run by midwives was 36.2 deaths per 1000 births; in the physician-run clinic the mortality rate was much higher, at 98.4 per 1000 births. After a long study, Dr. Semmelweis became convinced that the deaths of the mothers were due to infections that were transmitted by contact. For this reason, he imposed hand washing on everyone who entered the clinic, bringing the death rate down to about 12 deaths per 1000. Since that time, hand washing has become a healthy habit for many.
This is the correct way to wash your hands if you really want to get rid of bacteria
In a recent paper (Hammond PS, 2021), researchers simulated hand washing using a mathematical model, trying to figure out the time it takes to eliminate particles. They found that washing hands is not enough to just wet your hands, rub them gently and slowly. You have to rub them well, in order to allow the water to eliminate the particles present. Furthermore, using reasonable estimates for the variables, including the speed of hand movement, the model found that it takes about 20 seconds to wash hands.
From an empirical point of view, we should sing “Happy Birthday to You” twice, while rubbing them vigorously. It is the first step for everyone’s health.