Handwashing more useful than drugs | Arthritis Information

 

Handwashing more useful than drugs in virus control

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Physical barriers, such as regular handwashing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns, may be more effective than drugs to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses such as influenza and SARS, a study has found.

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Trawling through 51 studies, the researchers found that simple, low-cost physical measures should be given higher priority in national pandemic contingency plans.

"Mounting evidence suggests that the use of vaccines and antiviral drugs will be insufficient to interrupt the spread of influenza," they wrote in the report.

The 51 studies compared any intervention to prevent animal-to-human or human-to-human transmission of respiratory viruses, such as isolation, quarantine, social distancing, barriers, personal protection and hygiene, to doing nothing or to other types of intervention. They excluded vaccines and antiviral drugs.

They found that handwashing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns were effective individually in preventing the spread of respiratory viruses, and were even more effective when combined.

"This systematic review of available research does provide some important insights ... There is therefore a clear mandate to carry out further large trials to evaluate the best combinations," the international team of scientists wrote.

Another study, published in the Cochrane Library journal last month, found handwashing with just soap and water to be a simple and effective way to curb the spread of respiratory viruses, from everyday cold viruses to deadly pandemic strains.

Researchers have long warned that the world is due for another pandemic but they cannot say which strain will strike. The H5N1 avian flu virus that has killed more than 200 people globally since 2003 is considered a prime suspect.

(Reporting by Tan Ee Lyn; editing by Roger Crabb)

Yay for good personal hygiene! LOL

I wonder what their opinion on hand sanitizer is? I hear such mixed reviews.
Handwashing is your best defense against the spread of infection...how do I know this? because it is drilled into the brains of every nursing student until you become a handwashing fool!! And yeah..hand sanitizers are good when you dont have anything else..I mean if you pick your nose or maybe someone elses you should use some soap and water..but if you are shopping and then you get in your car, a little hand sanitizer is a nice idea. Of course when you get home, follow up with the soap and water. In the hospitals we have hand sanitizer on the walls.  If we go into a pt room to adjust a monitor or raise a side rail, a squirt of sanitizer is sufficient. But then if we were going to go handle a cup of water or give a medication soap at the sink would be used first. It is situational. But it all makes a difference. Each of us should have a small bottle of sanitizer in our purses or car, along with tissues for covering coughs and sneezes.

I won't eat food prepared by co-workers if I notice they do things like that.

Eeeeeuwwww!

Pip

Hi crunchy!

Pip I try not to think about that. Maybe they were just yanking their slip back down or pulling up baggy panty hose.

I was in a store once and an employee came out of the stall, played with her hair in the mirror and then went work behind the snack counter. Gross!!I have also noticed hand sanitizers at various stores lately too. I think it is a
good idea. I use it alot at work but I also wash my hands a lot. I have never
contracted MRSA and I attribute it to frequent hand washing.

I want to make another point though and that is, I think the reason I don't
get sick is because of this RA. I have not had a cold for 3 years now. I'm not
sure if this is a good thing. I wonder if my health would be better if I got
sick more often. At least my immune system would have something to do. Justin said that going to public restrooms grosses him out now - not because of the bathroom, but because he almost NEVER sees guys wash their hands. I read an article recently about how more and more men aren't washing their hands. Icky! Yeah Katie, that is gross. I know we are really killing our normal flora in a
bad way by all the antibacterial soaps we use. I stay away from them, don't
use them at home at all. I think good old soap and friction are key.Go to Washup.org * to get information and printable signs and brochures to hang up around the office.  We always have them posted at all the sinks at work; if nothing else, it shames some people into occasionally washing their hands.
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