October 15 Is Global Handwashing Day
Spontaneous generation is an archaic belief that living organisms can arise from the nonliving. This was the explanation given for why maggots would seem to "spontaneously" appear on rotting meat. This was debunked most formally by Louis Pasteur in the 19th century when he developed the theory – the germ theory – that diseases could be caused by bacteria. Robert Koch went a step further by inoculating mice with anthrax. He was then countered by Pasteur who gave chickens cholera, but only one of the two scientists became a verb.
Dr. Nancy Marshall made this for Dr. Likosky to hang in his office.
You or your children may have done the bacteria experiment by inoculating petri dishes with swabs from 'clean' areas in your home. While this just looks for bacterial growth, it is amazing what you can grow from keyboards, television remotes, stuffed animals and… your unwashed hands.
During the pandemic, we also became acutely aware of how often we touched our cheeks, our ears and our noses during the course of a day. Studies have shown that people touch their faces 23 to 160 times an hour. 44% of the time this touch was in an area most likely to be an entry point for pathogens like our lips or eyes.
In healthcare we have an additional responsibility to our patients and our colleagues. We work in a setting where we treat transmissible illnesses and we care for those with impaired immune systems. The threat of harm from unwashed or poorly sanitized hands is not theoretical, it's an everyday reality.
This brings us to handwashing. In healthcare settings, the CDC recommends alcohol-based hand sanitizers as our primary method for hand hygiene in most situations. In the community, soap and water is the recommended method. No matter how you clean your hands, proper technique really matters. Please do pay attention to technique and follow the guidelines.
Global Handwashing Day is a reminder about what we can all do to prevent the spread of illness at work and in the community. And really, not washing or sanitizing your hands thoroughly is so 17th century.
