School districts that implement sustainability initiatives typically take a close look at handwashing. According to the CDC, which is more effective: a strict handwashing regime or flu shots? Answer: Handwashing. The recommended best practices are to use foam soaps, to use liquid/foam but not bar soaps, which can harbor germs. A school district with a comprehensive IEQ program which includes a strict handwashing regime shared a graph at a recent EPA IEQ Schools Symposium that shows their absentee “bell curve” which used to peak quite high in January being flattened out when they instigated hand washing. (Meaning that student illness is low in September/October, starts rising, peaks in January/February, then starts heading downward, returns to a low point in May/June.) They could also tell which schools didn’t take the district-wide handwashing program as seriously, with a glance at the monthly school nurse report of absences and trips to the school nurse statistics they could see who needed to pay more attention to handwashing. A lack of handwashing showed up in increased absenteeism, increased trips to the school nurse and increased flu incidence. (Many school districts and education architects are incorporating handwashing lavatories (sinks) in hallways so teachers can more easily observe handwashing in progress.)
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states “…the very simple activity of frequent handwashing has the potential to save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention”. The CDC website has many resources available to help schools – posters, documents, information, and a Happy Handwashing song are only a few of the resources available. They discuss the use of hand sanitizers versus regular handwashing with soap and water, and they recommend against the use of anti-microbial soaps. They also recommend using either paper towels or air to dry hands. What are effective ways to dry hands?
Paper towels create their own set of problems – expense and waste being the two largest issues, although they are effective at drying without spreading germs. Just think if you no longer had to buy paper towels and the savings available not only in paper towels but also garbage bags, staff time in handling all the waste, and garbage costs at the landfill.
We’ve all heard that the regular metal air hand dryers (where you push a button and the air comes out) blow bacteria onto our hands – is that true? I was just in a store using a public restroom that had the ubiquitous white metal push button air dryers. I looked at the underside, where the air intake is located, and sure enough, it was coated with the cobwebby-looking dust we think of when we think of dirty air intakes. There are new hand dryers on the market that use air which seem to alleviate the blowing of dirty air onto hands. They’re called “air blades”. A narrow stream of air is focused on each side of the hands, which are placed, fingers pointing towards the ground, into the middle of the air blade dryer. The air is propelled out of the air blade at a high velocity, and it strips the water from the hands. These types of air dryers are also fun for clowning around – pretending your hands are being sucked into the dryer is always good for a laugh! It kind of feels that way a little but is very effective, and your hands actually do get dry in a real hurry. The other difference between air blades and the old work horse variety is that the air intake on an air blade comes from a duct that draws air from outdoors – usually from the roof, with the air being pulled into the dryer. No more dirty air being deposited on your clean hands!
Ask your school nurses for statistics on absences, and start tracking as your district or school implements a successful handwashing program. You’ll reduce absenteeism using a method that, according to the Center for Disease Control, is more effective than flu shots.
http://www.cdc.gov/features/handwashing/ features a number of resources
http://www.bam.gov/teachers/epidemiology_hand_wash.html a children’s handwashing project
This article definitely is an awakening for many of us who are extremely busy during the school day that we are not aware of serious health issues that revolve around us such as hand washing importance, flu, illness etc.
ReplyDeleteThis article speaks to me because my students are constantly sneezing and sniffling (and sticking their fingers in their noses!) I try to keep the room as clean as possible and always hand them a tissue when they need one. I also ask them not to touch anything and to wash their hands carefully. About a month ago I taught a lesson on how to wash your hands properly. Now my students will let me know when they feel they need to wash their hands. I've noticed they are not sneezing as much but I figured this was because allergy season was over. I never thought it could be because they are actually washing their hands now.
ReplyDeleteMy school is looking for ways to improve attendance and my administrator sent out a flier to all parents about washing hands properly and taking precaution against germs. I think I will share this post at school!
Thanks!
Elizabeth Mattia
Manhattan College
Wow, I never really thought about the blow dryers in the public bathrooms. In my school, students use towels. In a perfect world administration would have money and convert to"air blades". It is really something to see how handwashing is more effective than the flu shot. Someone needs to post this information at all the drug stores that offer "Flu shots".
ReplyDeleteThis is a great article to opening the eyes of many. A lot of people swear by flu shots, I personally do not get them I do not feel as if they work or help. I think that this would help if it was posted in all schools throughout the country.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree with everything in this article. Though I am not a doctor, I live in a family of nurses and hospital administrators and they all would say the same things. Not to mention, some kids (like I did at that age) hate getting shots. This is a much more effective and less stressful way of preventing illness. Plus, it is a lot easier to implement than forcing children to recieve the shot.
ReplyDeleteChristian H. - Manhattan College
I know for our campus, we have these massive and loud blow dryers. I think that there are still many alternatives left. The cloth dryers are disgusting and do not seem beneficial and paper towels are wasteful. This is an interesting article, and it should be posted for all to see in schools.
ReplyDeleteTeaching children from when they are very young to wash their hands definitely impacts their health and protects them from germs that can spread so easily in schools. Drying their hands leads into another discussion because more paper towels end up on the floor than being used and this is what most schools use as the most efficient way to get students to dry their hands. I would think that using air dryers in schools would be a terrific alternative. But I was not aware that there was a major difference in hand air dryers and that air blades are the best product to use. In my school we have hand sanitizers in many different locations and we do encourage our students to use them. When they were first installed, they were used a lot but now that the novelty has worn off, I don’t see the students using it as much. Because germs spread so easily in schools, teachers should have classroom discussions regarding the importance of handwashing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insightful comments. I think teaching kids how to wash hands correctly is something that has to be re-taught regularly to be effective. The hand sanitizers are a good option for certain times when soap and water aren't necessarily available (CDC website had some information on hand sanitizers also).
ReplyDeleteWhat a great article.Yes, handwashing will help cut down on colds, but the key especially for the elementary grades is to remind students to use soap. All too often they just run water on their hands and back to class. I think nurses should teach the proper ways to wash hands at the elementary. Maybe that would create a good habit that would follow them throughout life.
ReplyDeleteThe practice of hand-washing in PK-12 learning environments is a topic of interest, but I did not know this activity would be included in a school district’s Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) plan. When I think of IEQ, I think of indoor air quality, temperature, volatile organic compounds (VOCs); however, the practice of proper hand-washing is a tool to assist with student health issues. I have observed young and adolescent students in constant exchange of objects, greetings, etc. which would carry germs from one person to the next. I agree that district administrators should reinforce campus administrators and educators to instruct and advise students of the benefits of proper hand-washing. Alongside proper hand-washing practices, many teachers often use hand sanitizer in their classroom as a commonplace practice before-and-after social settings (e.g., lunch, music, PE). The resources offered by the CDC are valuable tools to inform students of the need to comply with proper hand-washing practices for their health and others in the school.
ReplyDeleteH. Ortiz (Tarleton State University)