Hand washing
Hand washing (or handwashing), also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning one's hands with soap or handwash and water to remove viruses/bacteria/microorganisms, dirt, grease, or other harmful and unwanted substances stuck to the hands. Drying of the washed hands is part of the process as wet and moist hands are more easily recontaminated.[1][2] If soap and water are unavailable, hand sanitizer that is at least 60% (v/v) alcohol in water can be used as long as hands are not visibly excessively dirty or greasy.[3][4] Hand hygiene is central to preventing the spread of infectious diseases in home and everyday life settings.[5]
For the figure of speech in the law-based context, see Clean hands. For the biblical passage, see Pontius Pilate.Hand washing
Handwashing, hand hygiene
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends washing hands for at least 20 seconds before and after certain activities.[6][7] These include the five critical times during the day where washing hands with soap is important to reduce fecal-oral transmission of disease: after using the toilet (for urination, defecation, menstrual hygiene), after cleaning a child's bottom (changing diapers), before feeding a child, before eating and before/after preparing food or handling raw meat, fish, or poultry.[8]
When neither hand washing nor using hand sanitizer is possible, hands can be cleaned with uncontaminated ash and clean water, although the benefits and harms are uncertain for reducing the spread of viral or bacterial infections.[9] However, frequent hand washing can lead to skin damage due to drying of the skin.[10] Moisturizing lotion is often recommended to keep the hands from drying out; dry skin can lead to skin damage which can increase the risk for the transmission of infection.[11]
Substances used[edit]
Soap and detergents[edit]
Removal of microorganisms from skin is enhanced by the addition of soaps or detergents to water.[34] Soap and detergents are surfactants that kill microorganisms by disorganizing their membrane lipid bilayer and denaturing their proteins. It also emulsifies oils, enabling them to be carried away by running water.[35]
Society and culture[edit]
Moral aspects[edit]
The phrase "washing one's hands of" something, means declaring one's unwillingness to take responsibility for the thing or share complicity in it. It originates from the bible passage in Matthew where Pontius Pilate washed his hands of the decision to crucify Jesus Christ, but has become a phrase with a much wider usage in some English communities.
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lady Macbeth begins to compulsively wash her hands in an attempt to cleanse an imagined stain, representing her guilty conscience regarding crimes she had committed and induced her husband to commit.
It has also been found that people, after having recalled or contemplated unethical acts, tend to wash hands more often than others, and tend to value hand washing equipment more. Furthermore, those who are allowed to wash their hands after such a contemplation are less likely to engage in other "cleansing" compensatory actions, such as volunteering.[98][99]