HAND WASHING AND COVID-19
COVID-19 reminded us of the importance of regular, proper handwashing. Surfaces could hold the virus for extended periods, allowing for quick and easy transmission in public areas.
Later in the pandemic, further research revealed that handwashing may not have as large an impact on COVID as we originally thought.
However, there is still substantial research indicating that it reduces the spread of colds, influenza, norovirus, and gastrointestinal infections.
WHY HAND WASHING IS STILL IMPORTANT
Even if the effect of handwashing on the COVID-19 virus is negligible, the overwhelming amount of data shows that it is one of the most effective ways to reduce the spread of infections, viruses, and seasonal illnesses.
“COVID is not the only game in town anymore,”
– Chin-Hong, specialist of infectious disease from UCSF
Appropriate hand hygiene prevents up to
50%
of avoidable infections acquired during health care delivery, including those affecting the health workforce.
GOOD HYGIENE BENEFITS THE WHOLE COMMUNITY
Teaching people about handwashing helps them and their communities stay healthy. Here’s some information about handwashing education in the community:
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Reduces the number of people who get sick with diarrhea by 23-40%
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Reduces diarrheal illness in people with weakened immune systems by 58%
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Reduces respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by 16-21%
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Reduces absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in schoolchildren by 29-57%
US Centres for Disease Control web site
HOW TO WASH YOUR HANDS
HAND WASHING AND GLITTERBUG
GlitterBug Potion
GlitterBug Potion is applied to students’ hands and rubbed in all over, including the wrist. It dries invisible. When they wash their hands, the GlitterBug Potion will be removed with good handwashing technique. However, the Potion will still be present on any areas that are missed by the washing, and this will show up under UV light.
NOTE: What you are seeing glow is GlitterBug Potion. It does NOT make germs glow. Instead, it is pretending to be the germs. Commonly, the palms will be well cleaned, but the finger webbing, nail beds, wrists and edge of the hand will still show leftover Potion.
GlitterBug Gel
Hand sanitizer effectively works by killing germs on the hands upon contact. To ensure effective sanitization, it’s crucial to thoroughly apply the sanitizer to all parts of your hands. Germs that don’t come into contact with the sanitizer won’t be eliminated.
We provide GlitterBug Gel to students to mimic the use of hand sanitizer. If you want to be discreet, you can remove the GlitterBug label and instruct them to use it as sanitizer. GlitterBug Gel dries and becomes invisible. Under UV light, the areas touched by the Gel become visible. If GlitterBug Gel were a real hand sanitizer (which it is not), those areas would be sanitized.
What you should look for are the areas that do not glow. These are the parts that haven’t been properly sanitized. Typically, most students will have glowing palms and little else. It’s essential to check between the fingers, the back of the hand, and around the wrists to ensure thorough sanitization.
GlitterBug Powder
If germs were visible, we would be much more aware of their easy spread. This is where GlitterBug Powder comes in.
Simply sprinkle the Powder on commonly touched items, like doorknobs, sign-in folders, work surfaces, and the like. It’s invisible to the naked eye. Let the students interact with the surfaces for a while, then use a UV light to track the spread of the Powder. You’ll find it on clothes, seats, ears, nostrils, and everywhere the students have been.
GlitterBug Powder effectively demonstrates how something invisible, such as germs, can be unknowingly transferred.
