GAY NEWS
New (Gross) Study: Most Men Don't Wash Hands After Bathroom
By L. K. Regan
Published Oct 30, 2009
Published Oct 30, 2009
Here's some news that will make you think twice about the casual handshake: British researchers have found that less than a third of men wash their hands after using the toilet. In these days of swine flu pandemic, that's a pretty scary statistic. Worse yet, the researchers found there are few ways to persuade guys to clean up their act.
The British study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, depended on a devilishly simple design: place sensors in bathrooms at service stations on British highways. These sensors were set to survey the water-and-soap behavior of the quarter of a million or so people who came through in the course of 32 days of observation. The researchers were hoping to find that people dutifully scrub their hands with soap after each visit—since, as the study authors write, "Hand-washing with soap has been ranked the most cost-effective intervention for the worldwide control of disease." In fact, if people would wash regularly with soap and water, over a million deaths from diarrheal diseases per year might be prevented. And that's not to mention that the CDC recommends hand washing as one of the most effective ways of slowing the spread of the swine flu pandemic.
Sadly, the study's results were not particularly auspicious. Less than a third of the men and two-thirds of the women who passed through the bathrooms during the study washed their hands with soap and water after using the toilet. So, researchers tried presenting bathroom users with a variety of messages to try to impact those statistics, and find out what motivates people to wash up. Electronic message boards at the bathroom entrances flashed a variety of hand-washing warnings, allowing the researchers to see which messages impacted behavior within the bathroom.
The messages showed a full range of approaches to hand-washing. Some were gentle reminders of the facts of hygiene; for instance, "Water doesn't kill germs, soap does." Others were more, well, explicit—for example, "Don't take the loo with you—wash with soap." Men and women differed in their behavioral responses to the messages. Women reacted best to the basic reminders that they ought to wash. Men, however, responded best to the gross-out effect, with messages like, "Soap it off or eat it later."
Not surprisingly, the most effective message overall involved shame and peer pressure. "Is the person next to you washing with soap?", when flashed on the board, got 12 percent more hand washing out of men and 11 percent more from the women. So the next time you're in the bathroom, wash your hands with soap and warm water (rubbing the soap into your hands for long enough to sing the alphabet through twice—that's about 20 seconds). It's the best thing you can do today for your own health and that of everyone you encounter through the day. And if the guy next to you isn't using soap, make sure he sees you staring!
The British study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, depended on a devilishly simple design: place sensors in bathrooms at service stations on British highways. These sensors were set to survey the water-and-soap behavior of the quarter of a million or so people who came through in the course of 32 days of observation. The researchers were hoping to find that people dutifully scrub their hands with soap after each visit—since, as the study authors write, "Hand-washing with soap has been ranked the most cost-effective intervention for the worldwide control of disease." In fact, if people would wash regularly with soap and water, over a million deaths from diarrheal diseases per year might be prevented. And that's not to mention that the CDC recommends hand washing as one of the most effective ways of slowing the spread of the swine flu pandemic.
Sadly, the study's results were not particularly auspicious. Less than a third of the men and two-thirds of the women who passed through the bathrooms during the study washed their hands with soap and water after using the toilet. So, researchers tried presenting bathroom users with a variety of messages to try to impact those statistics, and find out what motivates people to wash up. Electronic message boards at the bathroom entrances flashed a variety of hand-washing warnings, allowing the researchers to see which messages impacted behavior within the bathroom.
The messages showed a full range of approaches to hand-washing. Some were gentle reminders of the facts of hygiene; for instance, "Water doesn't kill germs, soap does." Others were more, well, explicit—for example, "Don't take the loo with you—wash with soap." Men and women differed in their behavioral responses to the messages. Women reacted best to the basic reminders that they ought to wash. Men, however, responded best to the gross-out effect, with messages like, "Soap it off or eat it later."
Not surprisingly, the most effective message overall involved shame and peer pressure. "Is the person next to you washing with soap?", when flashed on the board, got 12 percent more hand washing out of men and 11 percent more from the women. So the next time you're in the bathroom, wash your hands with soap and warm water (rubbing the soap into your hands for long enough to sing the alphabet through twice—that's about 20 seconds). It's the best thing you can do today for your own health and that of everyone you encounter through the day. And if the guy next to you isn't using soap, make sure he sees you staring!
volleybro29 wrote:
the second urine comes into contact with oxygen, it is no longer sterile
and also, if your not washing your hands, at least use some hand sanitizer. Its very effiective at killing anything on your hand and unlike antibacterial soap, germs and viruses can't evolve into superbugs because of its use
Nov 04 8:09 PM
boomerang86 wrote:
Um... I don't care if urine is supposedly sterile. I'm not touching anything where someone else's urine has been.
Nov 04 3:31 PM
nursemuscle wrote:
This is not a surprise. Even some of my immune compromised patients don't seem to understand the importance of hand washing. I have seen both men and women do the water splash on hand, wipe on towel or wave under a dryer if even that, and walk out. And if they think no one is watching, they usually just walk out after their business is finished. I use hand sanitizer for myself. And if it's available, wash my hands and don't touch the door handles afterwords.
Nov 04 10:18 AM
DCEric wrote:
Open mouth kissing still probably exchanges more bacteria, and delivers it to the more vulnerable parts of the body.
Nov 02 10:28 PM
col74 wrote:
most of the time piss is sterile but your groin, perineum, ass and genitals won't be. Lets have some Clostridium or MRSA spread about in the bathroom not to mention a range of other pleasantries...yuck!
Nov 01 2:30 PM
bigguysf wrote:
I'm sure these findings don't surprise ANYONE! I have seen guys take a crap talking on their cell phone then walk out. After flushing. Pretty nasty guys out there.
Nov 01 6:43 AM
metta8 wrote:
I wont touch the bathroom door handle with my hands when I'm leaving either. Again, I use a paper towel or my foot.
Nov 01 2:57 AM
metta8 wrote:
That is gross. I always wash my hands and I don't touch the handles when I do it. I grab a paper towel to turn it on and off and I use my elbow or another paper towel to get the paper towel.
Nov 01 2:56 AM
runt4muscle wrote:
Unless you're having a bowel movement and wiping your ass, you're probably better off not touching ANYTHING in a public restroom EXCEPT yourself! Urine is sterile, so what if you piss on your hand. There are more germs on the handle to flush the john, so use your elbow instead. Grow America and get an education! This germ phobia that this country seems to be paralyzed by is just ridiculous.
Oct 31 9:28 PM