Corona Daily 327: Women are Superior Handwashers

Sheona Gillespie, a marketing manager in Dusseldorf, Germany went for a soccer match two weeks ago. She reports seeing something extraordinary: A queue for the men’s bathroom. A long serpentine line with 40-50 men waiting outside the Men’s at the beer garden. In normal times, Sheona’s husband manages to go to the toilet, return to order the beers, and finish a glass, by the time she comes back from the loo. Pandemic can turn the world upside down; it can make men wash their hands in the restroom.

All available research shows women are far more diligent than men in handwashing. They are twice as likely to wash their hands at toilets than men. (Could that be a reason why twice more men are dying of Covid-19 than women?) Different reasons have been offered. Traditionally women prepared meals, cleaned the house, changed diapers, activities that require washing hands. In the bathrooms, women come in contact with toilet seats, making them more conscious of germs. Men, on the other hand, want to feel macho. “Optimism bias” (meaning things like Covid-19 will happen to others, but not to me) is more prevalent among men. Women are generally concerned about family and home, men more about employment and finances.

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The world is surprisingly full of non-hand-washers. Only 27% of the world population has consistent access to water and soap. 3 billion people have neither at home. In rich countries, where both are plentiful, fewer than 50% use them after using the toilet. About 1.8 million children under age 5 die every year from diarrhea and pneumonia, the top two kid killers. Handwashing with soap has been shown to save 1 out of 3 kids from diarrhea and 1 out of 5 kids from pneumonia.

A well known French study interviewed 64000 people in 63 countries and asked each if they agreed with the statement: “Washing your hands with soap after using a toilet you do automatically.” The highest score was 97% in Saudi Arabia, perhaps a surprise for many. China was the last with 23%. (US: 77%, UK: 75%, Russia: 63% and India: 60% answered in the affirmative).

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When is handwashing essential? The three most critical activities are: Before eating food, before preparing food and before leaving the restroom. After using the toilet, no matter where and for how long, hands must be washed with soap. Restroom is a place germs love the most. Ideally, handwashing is also recommended after blowing nose, coughing, sneezing, touching animals. In covid-19 times, before leaving the house, after entering a house, and after touching public surfaces such as door handles or shopping trolleys.

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The Johns Hopkins video above shows the WHO technique of handwashing. It is fairly elaborate. For a 20-second handwash, the song ‘happy birthday’ two times, or your national anthem can help. If you are a bad bathroom singer, you can count 20 seconds as follows: one one-thousand, two one-thousand… till twenty one-thousand.

Touching the wet tap (faucet) after washing may nullify your effort. Better to use a towel or tissue to turn the tap off. Nails should be trimmed short. Artificial nails or nail polish may make washing away of germs impossible. WHO asks health workers not to wear rings, jewellery or nail polish. Liquid soap is better than a bar soap. Bar soap is all right as long as it is not kept in a wet dish. Water and soap are always better than a sanitiser. If sanitiser is a must, it must contain at least 60% alcohol.

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Tomorrow, I will write why using soap in addition to water is important, and the origins of soap washing.

Ravi