The simplest way to stay healthy
The simplest way to stay healthy
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Newsfeed display by CaRP THE WORLD Health Organization reports that 3.5 million children under 5 years old die each year from diarrhea and respiratory diseases. More than 80 percent of the deaths are attributed to unsafe water and poor hygiene and sanitation practices.
A study by Dr. Anna Beatrice Bowen of the Food borne and Diarrhea Diseases Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, shows that hand-washing reduces the risk of acquiring both childhood diseases by as much as 40-50 percent.
"Hand-washing is the single most simple and inexpensive thing we can do to protect ourselves," Bowen says.
An expert on the occurrence of diseases, Bowen conducted extensive studies on the effects of hand washing in many developing countries, including Pakistan, Guatemala and China. She was among 150 health experts invited by Procter & Gamble to the recent 2nd International Health and Hygiene Symposium.
Bowen says it is not the number of times a person washes his/her hands that matters but when, such as after using the toilet, before cooking or before eating.
She adds, close attention should be paid to the nails, as bacteria can be hidden there.
"Use antibacterial soap. Wash all surfaces of the hands, including the front, back and between all the fingers. Dry hands on a clean handkerchief, and clean your environment by throwing away trash and sweeping the floor," Bowen says.
Hand washing must last for 20-30 seconds, she says. Even when there’s a short supply of clean water, Bowen says hand washing is still better than not washing at all.
But developing the habit is not simple.
In her five-month study in the Fujian Province of China, Bowen noted the importance of hygiene education. P&G, she says, has been actively promoting hand washing in grade school in China since 1995. To date, the company has already directly reached 80 million schoolchildren in 550 cities.
Bowen says the program includes teachers receiving an hour-long hand washing and hygiene training from P&G staff. Teachers then pass on to their students what they learned from the training. Kids get take-home kits with a small bar of soap, toothpaste, a board game about hygiene and a hygiene booklet for parents.
However, Bowen says behavior change may not always last and participants may return to their old habits. Or the behavioral change may be incomplete, such as failure to wash the hands at key times.
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Newsfeed display by CaRP THE WORLD Health Organization reports that 3.5 million children under 5 years old die each year from diarrhea and respiratory diseases. More than 80 percent of the deaths are attributed to unsafe water and poor hygiene and sanitation practices.
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ReportA study by Dr. Anna Beatrice Bowen of the Food borne and Diarrhea Diseases Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, shows that hand-washing reduces the risk of acquiring both childhood diseases by as much as 40-50 percent.
"Hand-washing is the single most simple and inexpensive thing we can do to protect ourselves," Bowen says.
An expert on the occurrence of diseases, Bowen conducted extensive studies on the effects of hand washing in many developing countries, including Pakistan, Guatemala and China. She was among 150 health experts invited by Procter & Gamble to the recent 2nd International Health and Hygiene Symposium.
Bowen says it is not the number of times a person washes his/her hands that matters but when, such as after using the toilet, before cooking or before eating.
She adds, close attention should be paid to the nails, as bacteria can be hidden there.
"Use antibacterial soap. Wash all surfaces of the hands, including the front, back and between all the fingers. Dry hands on a clean handkerchief, and clean your environment by throwing away trash and sweeping the floor," Bowen says.
Hand washing must last for 20-30 seconds, she says. Even when there’s a short supply of clean water, Bowen says hand washing is still better than not washing at all.
But developing the habit is not simple.
In her five-month study in the Fujian Province of China, Bowen noted the importance of hygiene education. P&G, she says, has been actively promoting hand washing in grade school in China since 1995. To date, the company has already directly reached 80 million schoolchildren in 550 cities.
Bowen says the program includes teachers receiving an hour-long hand washing and hygiene training from P&G staff. Teachers then pass on to their students what they learned from the training. Kids get take-home kits with a small bar of soap, toothpaste, a board game about hygiene and a hygiene booklet for parents.
However, Bowen says behavior change may not always last and participants may return to their old habits. Or the behavioral change may be incomplete, such as failure to wash the hands at key times.
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Submitted: 06/20/06
Description: THE WORLD Health Organization reports that 3.5 million children under 5 years old die each year from diarrhea and respiratory diseases. More than 80 percent of the deaths are attributed to unsafe water and poor hygiene and sanitation practices.
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