We stop washing our hands. We are no longer afraid of the coronavirus?

The coronavirus pandemic has made us take more care of hand hygiene. Americans started washing them twice as often as in the days before COVID-19. Poles too. Unfortunately, it seems we are forgetting to wash our hands regularly. It happens more often to men than to women, although this is not related to the prevailing circumstances.

1. The COVID-19 pandemic broke out over a year ago. Fearing the coronavirus, people around the world have started washing their hands more
2. The latest research by Americans shows that we are already returning to the behavior from before the COVID-19 era
3. According to experts, frequent hand washing should be a habit, no matter what the circumstances
4. You can find more up-to-date information on the TvoiLokony home page

Coronavirus. A year ago, hand washing became fashionable

When the coronavirus pandemic broke out, we all remembered to clean our hands. The fact that washing hands for several dozen seconds is necessary and one of the least demanding elements of COVID-19 prevention was reported on the boards in almost every toilet. To make this process even easier, we were looking for ideas to meet the time requirement. In Poland it was i.a. singing an excerpt from Bajm’s hit “Biała armia” twice. In the United States, the song “Happy Birthday” was used for this purpose.

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It worked. A June study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that local citizens wash their hands twice as often as in the event of a pandemic.

“Our hospital staff, not knowing if someone was infected with COVID-19 or not, took hand hygiene very seriously,” said the co-author of the study, Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

How was it in Poland? Similarly. In March last year, research appeared, which showed, inter alia, that the percentage of people who wash their hands up to three times a day has decreased. Before the outbreak of the pandemic, 19% of respondents did it, and only 4% during the coronavirus.

On the other hand, the group of people who wash their hands more than 16 times a day increased from 9% to 28%.

The pandemic is dying out. We stop taking care of hygiene

However, it seems that some of us have reverted to old habits. A study recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that after just four months, medical staff, technicians and cleaners working in US hospitals had a daily handwashing rate of 51,5 percent. Previously, it was over 90 percent.

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A national survey conducted in January in the US showed that only 57 percent. Americans wash their hands six or more times a day – incl. after using the toilet, before eating or after returning home from a trip. In the first weeks of the pandemic, this figure was 78%.

– Hand hygiene is a habit. It’s like wearing a seat belt, eating healthy or exercising regularly. It’s something to get used to, ‘commented Dr. Landon.

Women wash their hands more than men

Research has also found that Americans often lie when it comes to washing their hands. “None of us want to be seen as dirty, so we’re inclined to lie that we washed our hands after we left the bathroom,” Landon said.

According to Jon Dommisse, who researches hand washing habits, women lie more often. They want to avoid the embarrassment of being accused of poor hygiene, while men hardly care if they washed their hands.

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The CDC experts have similar conclusions. “Regardless of the circumstances, men are less likely than women to remember to wash their hands before eating in a restaurant, before preparing meals, after using the bathroom, or after developing respiratory symptoms,” the report said.

Dommisse draws attention to another aspect related to hygiene – the phenomenon of “rinse and run”. – “Rinse and run” occurs when, after leaving the public bathroom, you do not pay any attention to using soap. You just rinse your hands and run out of the toilet, says the expert.

In April 2020, 27 percent of them admitted it. Americans, in January this year already 48 percent.

The above data is for Americans. There is no research that would say about changing the habits of Poles, but it can be assumed that the situation is similar.

We also recommend the Green Laboratory antibacterial liquid soap with origanol, which has antifungal and antibacterial properties. The composition of the cosmetic also includes aloe to prevent dry hands.

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