Blog, Schools and nurseries
School lesson proves how essential hand washing is
Apr
…and that hand gels are NOT an alternative to soap and water
Hand washing is described as “One of the biggest breakthroughs in preventing the spread of illnesses and infections in hospitals” at the start of a recently updated article on the Upworthy website, which attributes modern hand hygiene successes to Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis. He introduced hand washing at a maternity clinic at the General Hospital in Vienna in 1846: “The simple act of scrubbing hands with soap and water literally saved lives.”
The article by Heidi Lux then takes a contemporary turn as she reveals that (as every parent and teacher knows) getting children to wash their hands can be a real challenge at the best of times. But washing with soap and water, ever since the pioneering work of Dr Semmelweis, has become increasingly important – especially since the onset of the recent pandemic.
All of which points to the inescapable fact that teaching children how and when to wash their hands is arguably the most important lesson they will ever learn.
Presenting the hand washing proof to youngsters
Lux then refers to a school science experiment that was undertaken by teacher Dayna Robertson and Jaralee Metcalf, a classroom behavioural specialist.
The importance of effective hand hygiene was demonstrated to the class in a simple but very effective way:-
Slices of fresh bread were unwrapped.
- One was left untouched
- One was held by a someone with unwashed hands
- One was held by someone who had used a hand sanitiser (the type is not named in the report)
- One was held by someone who had washed their hands thoroughly with soap and water
- And for good measure, one was rubbed over the keyboard of one of the class laptops.
All the slices of bread were sealed in plastic bags and left.
After a predetermined time, the bread slices were assessed. The results, though perhaps not surprising, were nonetheless very interesting.
The washed hands slice was comparatively free of mould, unlike the ones that hand been touched by unwashed hands and rubbed on to the computer keyboard – which were covered in it. Even the sanitised hands slice, says the article, “also had a fair amount of mold on it.”
All of which leads the report author to conclude that
“Hand sanitizer is not an alternative to washing hands!”
One teacher’s simple, disgusting experiment drives home the importance of hand washing »
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