Think about how many objects a person touches every day: chairs, tables, door handles, writing utensils, computers, bags, handrails, food etc. Now match that statistic with the idea that the average person touches their face 2000 times a day. The best way to prevent diseases from transferring from surfaces to our bodies is hand washing. As the simplest form of disease prevention, the CDC suggests, “it has the potential to save more lives than any vaccine.” Today, it is estimated that 85% of adults wash their hands after using a public restroom, which is up from rates of previous years. However, that is not enough. At The Walker School in Marietta, Georgia, it was found that almost 50% of upper school boys do not wash their hands after using the bathroom. Maybe it is time to redesign the public health campaigns in both high school and public restrooms. The basic posters have become white noise, and the population feels like skipping this step is acceptable. Colored paper towels, music in the bathroom, a different layout, maybe just new posters will help direct students and adults attention to help increase hand washing rates.
Check out this news story by ABC: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/hand-washing-rates-time-high/story?id=11632125#.T0EmSWD-IXw
