http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070917/ap_on_...WPlB6SQUSBa24cA


Study sees rise in men not washing hands
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Medical Writer
Mon Sep 17, 7:19 PM ET


The gender gap has widened when it comes to hygiene, according to the latest stakeout by the "hand washing police." One-third of men didn't bother to wash after using the bathroom, compared with 12 percent of women, said the researchers who spy on people in public restrooms. They reported their latest findings Monday at a meeting of infectious disease scientists.

Two years ago, the last time the survey was done, only one-quarter of men didn't wash, compared with 10 percent of women.

"Guys need to step up to the sink," said Brian Sansoni, spokesman for the Soap and Detergent Association, which co-sponsors the survey and related education campaigns.

The latest study was based on observations last month of more than 6,000 people in four big cities.

Frequent hand washing is the single best thing people can do to avoid getting sick, from colds and the flu to germs lurking in food, doctors say. And a recent Harris Interactive survey found 92 percent of Americans said they always wash up after using the bathroom.

But researchers for the American Society for Microbiology found that only 77 percent actually do, when it comes to public restrooms. That's a 6 percent decline from a similar study in 2005.

The dirty details:

_Atlanta's Turner Field baseball stadium again was the worst. Only 57 percent of guys there washed up, compared to 95 percent of women.

_New York was Second City to Chicago in cleanliness. In restrooms at the Windy City's Shedd Aquarium and Museum of Science and Industry, 81 percent of men and women combined washed their hands, compared to 79 percent at the Big Apple's Penn and Grand Central train stations.

_At San Francisco's Ferry Terminal Farmers Market, 62.5 percent of men lathered up. Women did better, with 84 percent.

Carry sanitizer gels and wipes in case the means to wash your hands aren't handy, suggested microbiologist Judy Daly of Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, who led the project.

"These are a marvelous addition to plain soap and water," she said.

Telephone surveys by the research firm Harris Interactive show little shift in attitudes over previous polls in 2003 and 2005. The latest was of 1,001 adults from Aug. 17-20.

Nearly three-fourths of Americans said they always wash up after changing a diaper, 78 percent said they do so after handling or eating food; 42 percent after petting a dog or cat, 25 percent after handling money, and 34 percent after coughing or sneezing.

 

I think washing your hands BEFORE touching your private part is even more important than after. I always wash my hands beforehand because I don't want dirty stuff on it, which could even cause infections. To me, washing beforehand is more important than afterwards.

 

There's more festering in the average home kitchen than in the John.

That said, taking one minute out of your life to keep your hands clean may save you hours of sick leave, so do it!!!

 

If washing your hands after a piss in the john is 'necessary' then you should be washing your hands 50 times a day. These scientists are idiots when it comes to this.

NO ONE on earth washed their hands for thousands of years. Of course there are cases where you can get sick from not doing it, but if you get stick from taking a piss and not touching the comode/handles/etc. then you are in bad shape.

The most common reason I don't wash my hands after a piss is if the bathroom itself is filthy. It's PROVEN by the time you touch the faucet handles, the paper towel dispenser, etc. you are exposed to much more germs than if you just go on your merry way.

Again, this applies to when the restroom doesn't appear to be very clean and you don't have urine on your hands etc.

At nice restaurants or similar place I do it instinctively every time no matter what.

 

I never wash my hands...I'm still around .

 

You say it like it's something to be proud of.

 

I prefer to view this as survival of the fittest.


Washing hands is for people that shouldn't be here

Thanks darwin.......

 

Marine says to a Navy guy after watching him relieve himself in the bathroom and then going for the door with out washing his hands: "Hey squid, in boot camp they taught us to wash our hands after using the head!!

Navy guy says back to the Marine: "Well, we were taught not to piss on our hands."


for me it depends on the situation. swamp crotch or backsplash from a urinal etc deserves some scrubbin. freshly showered or clean all day with no backsplash means I am probably good to go.

A clean crotch is 100 times cleaner than your hands are all day, by far.

 

I was watching some episode of Nova or other science show years ago and they said if an Alien lifeform came to our house, and their vision was able to detect the amount of bacteria in the air and on surfaces, they would use the kitchen sink to relieve themselves and drink out of the toilet.





Since then, I have adopted the same behavior. It's a little ackward at parties but I have never gotten sick.

 

Hate to break it to you guys but washing hands does absolute jack shit in removing bactera. Unless you use some hardcore astringent or alcohol based foam products, you're not doing much to get rid of the bacteria. We did an experiment in my micro class where we touched three fingers to a petri dish before washing, and after washing, and there was no difference between the size of the colonies on the plates. Some actually got worse because you touch things like the sink or the faucet, which may contain lots of yummy fungi spores.

At my local hospital where I volunteer, they never tell you to wash your hands. Nobody does. EVERYBODY uses the foam product that is mostly alcohol. Take a golf ball sized dab and rub it around until it evaporates.

Oh, and unless you're cleaning the toilet with your tongue, you're not going to just catch some random disease. Unless, of course, someone decides to plant the pox on your stall! Trust your immune system!