Running your hands under the faucet with some soap for a few seconds isn't enough to kill germs. To help avoid catching the flu and other illnesses, wash your hands thoroughly and frequently with soap and warm water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer, particularly before leaving a restroom, eating or touching your face.
Wash your hands for about 20 seconds, about
as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice. When visiting a public restroom, use a paper towel to turn off the faucet and open the door when leaving.
Poor hygiene in the U.S. hospitals may contribute to 103,000 deaths per year. Source:
http://bit.ly/1khytqSAutomatic tracker may be needed to ensure your doctor washed their hands: The University of Illinois Medical Center has installed a system called
HyGreen (Hand Hygiene Recording and Reminding System) which acts as a reminder to health care workers before they ever enter a patient's room.
The provider begins by cleaning his hands, then placing them under a sensor that recognizes the cleaning, and transmits a signal to a badge the provider is wearing. When they walk into the patient's room, that badge transmits an "all clean" signal to a sensor above the bed.
If a caregiver walks into a room without washing their hands, the sensor won't get that all clean signal and the badge will start buzzing.
Source:
Tech Ensures Your Doc Washed Their Hands. NBC Chicago.
