Do you know what germs lurk in your home?
The importance of hand hygiene is being encouraged after a new report shows that a child can accidentally spread germs across as many as 240 surfaces in just two hours.
According to the survey, a third of parents (33 per cent) admit they haven’t spent time teaching their children how to wash their hands properly and one in ten are happy to let children wash their hands their own way, they are just happy they are doing it at all.
But are they in fact washing their hands at all?
Germs on a buggyThe survey carried out with UK parents by hand hygiene experts Cuticura, found that half of parents admit their child doesn’t wash their hands every time they have used to the toilet and nearly one in five think their child fibs about washing hands when they haven’t.
The Hygiene Doctor Professor Lisa Ackerley says: “We know children are going to play and explore the home, which is just what parents want them to do, but we do want to keep them healthy, especially at times when vomiting bugs like Rotavirus and Norovirus can be rife. Although it is impossible to keep a completely germ-free home, the children failed to wash their hands at points that would have saved them from contamination or from passing on pathogens to others, leaving a cocktail of contamination in their path.”
In addition to the survey, a new report ‘Journey of the Germ’ commissioned by Cuticura and led by The Hygiene Doctor Professor Lisa Ackerley, monitored three children from the same family with a mixture of ‘kid cams’, UV dust and parental diaries.
The findings cast new light on just how far our little ones explore in the home when our backs are turned and how everyday items turn into potential contamination hotspots, depending on their activity and hygiene habits.
Dr Ackerley comments, “The aim of this observational experiment was to understand the potential journey of the germ and how easily harmful bacteria and viruses could be transferred unknowingly through the home. A shocking finding revealed one child did not wash their hands after going to the toilet and proceeded to touch 22 surfaces a total of 89 different times, including the walls, blanket and the sofa. If this child were carrying any infection in her bowels – bacteria, viruses or threadworms - these could be spread easily to the other children.”
During the investigation, another child failed to wash their hands after sneezing and then touched 37 items including eight hand-contact surfaces (walls, sofa and table), which could have been contaminated with respiratory pathogens. Dr Ackerley continues, “Viral respiratory diseases such as colds and flu can be transferred after sneezing. Any items touched after sneezing would have been contaminated, potentially with viruses or bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus which is carried by a third of the population.”
The third child in the experiment touched several dirty items including the skateboard, which was likely to be heavily contaminated with dirt and even faeces from outdoor use. In just two hours the child touched 66 items at 240 points, including 18 hand-contact sites like door handles and ipad a total of 90 times.
Lorraine Thomas, author and behaviour expert commented on the findings from the report, “The ‘kid cam’ footage was interesting to see exactly how children play and explore through the home, which is such an important part of their learning and development. We can’t wrap our children in cotton wool and we wouldn’t want to either, but it is important to keep them safe from the spread of potential harmful germs. Parents are such key role models for their children, so by teaching them the importance of washing your hands properly with a long-lasting anti-bacterial hand wash at a young age, will set them up for life and keep their hands bacteria free in the process.”
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