Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.
Do you really catch a cold or get a communicable disease
simply by coming in contact with a germ? If that was the case, wouldn’t we all
be sick all the time?
Germs are everywhere, so simple contact with them obviously
isn’t how we get sick. We get sick from these microbes because our body doesn’t
fight them off, and succumbs to their effects. Therefore the germ theory is, in
fact, not correct. Our bodies’ inherent inability to fight the disease is why
we get sick, not that we simply came in contact with a germ.
Having said that, keeping germs from overwhelming the body
is a multifaceted endeavor. Staying healthy requires eating right, keeping our
vitamin D levels at optimal levels and proper hydration. It also entails
keeping microbes from contacting our defenses in the first place.
I’m going to try to dispel a few bits of misinformation and
give some recent recommendations on how to best keep your hands clean, thereby
avoiding the most common cause of microbial contact.
One bit of misinformation says that you need to wash your
hands for long enough to sing the “Happy Birthday” tune. That’s a long time and
completely unnecessary, as current research shows. Actual testing reveals that
5 seconds is indeed too short, while scrubbing for 10 seconds is just as
effective as any longer time. This is scrubbing time, not including turning the
water on/off and applying soap. Are there times when more scrubbing is needed?
Sure, especially after changing a diaper or handling raw meats, or after
handling pets. If you see grime still on your hands, keep scrubbing.
The next myth is that you must use hot water. The US
government mandates water in restaurants plumbing deliver water at a minimum of
100 to 108 degrees (F) for handwashing purposes. But is it necessary? The
newest research says no. The study concluded that whether participants washed
in 60, 79 or 100 degree (F) water, there was no difference in the amount of
bacteria remaining. These people actually had E. Coli applied to their hands
for this experiment, which made it possible to measure the outcomes by
culturing their hand swipes.
Another myth is that you need to use antibacterial soap.
This has definitely been debunked. Plain old soap is just as cleansing and
carries less risk of causing drug resistant bacteria.
The primary ingredient in antibacterial soap is Triclosan.
Triclosan has been shown to actually prolong healing time when applied to
wounds, and increases your risk of scar formation. Actually, the EU is phasing
this ingredient out of use because the risks outweigh the benefits.
Proper hand washing technique does matter when attempting to
clean the hands. The steps are simply this: wet the hands and apply enough soap
to cover them; rub the palms together with fingers interlaced; rub the back of
each hand; rub between fingers by interlacing them; then rub the fingertips on
each palm to clean the fingernail area. That’s it.
If you do those steps in 10 seconds with any temperate
water, your hands will be as clean as needed to be safe. If you are in a public
restroom, use paper towels to turn the water off and open the door on the way
out.
One interesting point I found while researching this article
was that people who use hand lotions to maintain well hydrated skin have hands
that come clean much easier than those with dry hands.
Again, I don’t believe the germ theory that says that simple
contact with germs is all it takes to get sick. But, I also don’t believe that our
bodies are invincible, and simple measures, like handwashing, are proven ways
to maintain health and fend off disease.