- Hand washing with soap and water reduces the risk of diarrheal episodes by 28–48%
- Reduces acute respiratory infection by 20–50% among children
It takes us back to nostalgia when Ginie offered our favorite cartoon character, Meena, to be a film star as her third wish. Meena replied: “I want something much better. I wish that everyone would wash their hands with soap or ash.” Genie was shocked and replied: “Are you sure?”
Meena was right, indeed. The importance of washing hands is far greater than any other cause. According to experts, washing hands properly and frequently can help to prevent disease in the first place.
In the mid-18th century, a doctor in Vienna, Austria observed mothers delivering in the doctor-run maternity ward at his hospital were more likely to get a fever and die compared to those in the nearby midwife-run ward.
The doctor decided to seek an answer for the cause. He observed physicians and medical students often visit the maternity ward after performing an autopsy. He hypothesized that ‘cadaverous particles’ transfer from the autopsy room into the maternity ward through their hands, where midwives only help to deliver newborns, thus keeping them free of the particles.
Importance of hand washing
Although Semmelweis did not know why infection happens, his prevention method was on the spot. Now, we know that pathogens like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that we can not see with our naked eyes cause infections and other diseases.
Dr M Mushtaq Hussain, adviser of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR): “Hand washing is important to prevent foodborne and waterborne diseases. It also prevents the possibility of contagious diseases.”
“If parents build hand washing habits in their children, the children will live safer lives,” he added.
Mushtaq said: “Along with other times, children should wash their hands when they reach school and come back home.”
A study by Haramaya University in Ethiopia found that hand washing with soap and water reduces the risk of diarrheal episodes by 28–48% and acute respiratory infection by 20–50% among children.
In another study by Eastern Medical College, Comilla depicted: “Typically, school-age children in developing countries do not wash their hands at crucial moments, as right before or after using the restroom, eating, or preparing food. Still, less than 5% of people in developing nations wash their hands. However, due to inadequate hand washing techniques, 400 million children worldwide are worm-infected.”
The study said that 30% of middle school students practice ‘bad hand washing’. The study defined the term by combining various factors such as hand washing duration, washing before meals, and after using the toilet.
National Hygiene Survey, 2018 depicts that only 10% of primary school children wash their hands before food preparation. Although the study is aligned with other research, it found that around 90% of children wash their hands before eating or after using the bathroom.
The survey also finds that only 35% of schools have soap in their hand-washing facility.
In Bangladesh, visual or tactile sensations such as moyle (dust and dirt) have been identified as antecedents of hand washing by a study by the University of Bielefeld. The study finds that people have habits of washing their hands when it smells.
Awareness projects in Bangladesh
Several government organizations and NGOs are working to promote hand washing.
WaterAid Bangladesh is a front-runner in promoting handwashing. The organization has been working in the country since 1986. Country Director Hasin Jahan said: “Recently, we started focusing on Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR). People are more resistant to antibiotics than before. To prevent resistance, hand washing can be a tool. If hand washing is promoted, then the use of antibiotics will go down, which will cause AMR to go down.”
“This can be a reason for promoting hand-washing activities,” she added.
Till now, WaterAid has helped to install physical infrastructure for drinking water and hand washing in 800 schools. Besides, the organization reaches slums and schools for awareness and sanitation projects.
The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) program by Brac is another key platform for promoting hand washing. The organization provided WASH facilities and hygiene education to 6,320 secondary school students and teachers.
Jannat Adib Chowdhury, Senior Manager at Brac said: “Our organization is currently focusing on ensuring the construction of WASH facilities or restoration of damaged WASH facilities due to recent floods across various locations in Bangladesh so that secondary school students can adopt or maintain effective hand washing behavior.”
According to Unicef’s effective hand washing guidelines, a person needs to wet his/her hands with running water. Then the person needs to apply enough soap to cover wet hands. The hands need to be scrubbed, including the back of the hands, between fingers, and under nails for at least 20 seconds. After rinsing thoroughly with running water, one should dry one’s hands with a clean cloth or single-use towel.
