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Hand washing habit prevents diarrhoea, pneumonia

  • October 16, 2016

Rawalpindi

Every year, well over 3.5 million children around the globe do not live to celebrate their fifth birthday because of diarrhoea and pneumonia that can be prevented in majority of cases through washing hands with soap that according to health experts is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia.

About 80 per cent of all infectious diseases are transmitted by touch and the single most important thing you can do to prevent these infections is to wash your hands. Many illnesses including common cold and more serious illnesses such as meningitis, pneumonia, influenza, hepatitis A and E along with most types of infectious diarrhoea, intestinal worms (especially round worms), eye and skin infections can be avoided through good hand-washing.

Despite its lifesaving potential, washing hands with soap is seldom practiced and is not always easy to promote. Handwashing and sanitation is one of most feasible and sustainable options for improving public health in developing countries.

Head of Community Medicine at CMH Lahore Medical College Professor Dr Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry expressed this while talking to ‘The News’ in connection with Global Hand washing Day that is being observed on October 15 around the globe. The theme for Global Handwashing Day 2016 is “Make handwashing a habit”.

He said globally, hands are washed with soap in less than 20 per cent cases when they should be. Around the world, the observed rates of washing hands with soap at critical moments range from zero per cent to 34 per cent. Although people around the world wash their hands with water, very few wash their hands at critical moments for example after using the toilet, while cleaning a child and before handling food, he said.

Studies reveal that diarrhoea kills over two million children every year, making it the second leading killer of children worldwide. In Pakistan, every year more than 250,000 children die from diarrhoea and the message of hand washing in the existing situation becomes a message for survival in the country, said Dr. Ashraf. He added a simple hygiene habit – washing hands with soap – could halve this figure.

He said for handwashing to be effective it must be practiced consistently at key times, such as after using the toilet or before contact with food. While habits must be developed over time, this theme emphasises the importance of handwashing as a ritual behaviour for long-term sustainability. Habit formation is currently a hot topic in behaviour change and the water, sanitation and hygiene sector (WASH).

Cleaning your hands regularly throughout the day can help keep you out of the doctor’s office or the emergency room. Handwashing is effective in preventing the spread of disease in overcrowded, slum environments, research shows.

Turning handwashing with soap before eating and after using the toilet and after cleaning a child’s bottom into an ingrained habit could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention, cutting deaths from diarrhoea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by one-quarter, said Dr. Ashraf.

He added a study in Pakistan found that hand washing with soap and water reduced the number of pneumonia-related infections by more than 50 per cent.

Pneumonia is a disease that takes lives of over 1.3 million children globally before reaching their fifth birthday. Estimates indicate that pneumonia accounts for 18 percent of child mortality, the primary cause of death among young children globally.

To a query, Dr. Ashraf said washing hands with water alone is significantly less effective than washing hands with soap in terms of removing germs. With proper use, all soaps are equally effective at rinsing away the germs that cause disease, he believes.

Proper handwashing requires only soap and a small amount of water. One should cover the wet hands with soap, including palms, back, between the fingers and especially under the fingernails for at least 30 seconds, rinse well with running water rather than rinsing in still water and dry hands thoroughly with a clean towel or air dryer, said Dr. Ashraf.

He said in schools, toilets and handwashing stations are critical to students’ health and to reducing absenteeism. People handwashing behaviours can be changed through multiple mass media and interpersonal communication channels with specific messages designed to respond to their expressed needs and preferences. School programs can help to establish lifelong healthy habits including handwashing, he said.

Religious leaders greatly influence public opinion in Pakistan and they should be encouraged to help their congregations of the benefits of handwashing with soap as sanitation is half faith, said Dr. Ashraf.

Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/157492-Hand-washing-habit-prevents-diarrhoea-pneumonia

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