It seems the most obvious to say: after you go to the toilet, wash your hands. But judging by a viral clip that emerged on social media last week, this simple health advice may have been lost on a new generation.
In the short video, which has been viewed seven million times on Twitter, American social media personalities Jordyn Woodruff and Alex Bennett admit to not washing their hands after – pardon the language – urinating.
“I made the conscious decision to stop washing my hands in college,” Woodruff told listeners of the couple’s popular podcast Mean Girl. “One day I thought, ‘I’m just not going to wash them.’ ‘
To which Bennett replies, ‘I don’t really trust people who wash their hands [after going to the toilet]because I don’t think it actually does anything.’
The clip has since been viewed 350,000 times on the video-sharing app TikTok, with thousands of comments as well. Many wanted to point out that Woodruff and Bennett are far from alone. One said, “Ninety-nine percent of people who say they wash their hands are lying,” while another wrote, “Most men don’t.”
Not washing your hands after using the toilet promotes the rapid growth of dangerous insects
Washing for six seconds without soap is hardly more effective than not washing at all
According to some studies, about two-thirds of men leave their hands unwashed after going to the toilet.
‘This attitude is more common than most people think,’ says Dr Marina Serdar, a microbiologist at the University of Nottingham. ‘Some people forget; others just don’t care.’
ProfESSOR Sally Bloomfield, chair of the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene, says: ‘Despite what many people may think, soap doesn’t kill bacteria – it takes the bacteria off your skin and then the water washes them away. So not only do you have to use a lot of soap, you also have to rinse your hands long enough to get rid of all the germs.’
But surveys show that about a quarter of Britons don’t wash their hands with soap and water.
So how bad for our health are unhygienic habits?
American social media star Jordyn Woodruff, pictured, has announced that she no longer wants to wash her hands after using the bathroom
Studies show that toilets are, unsurprisingly, a hot spot for germs. Three of the most common are E. coli, salmonella, and norovirus, all of which can cause painful and sometimes deadly stomach flu that leads to vomiting and diarrhea.
This is because these bugs are found in the faeces, which can end up in the hands during the toilet visit.
“It’s not just the process of wiping or touching your genitals,” explains Professor Bloomfield. ‘These particles get everywhere. It doesn’t matter if you only went in for a short while, you still have to wash your hands every time.’
Insects also spread through other forms of contact with humans and animals. That’s why experts also advise washing hands after touching uncooked meat, after coughing, sneezing or handling pets.
They say insufficient hand washing, or no cleaning at all, allows germs to spread in the community. Studies suggest that 14 percent of banknotes and 10 percent of credit cards contain excrement. In fact, a research paper found that a quarter of people in the UK have faecal marks on their hands.
In December, health officials warned that significant levels of E.coli could be found on supermarket self-checkout machines.
This photo was taken after the volunteer had washed his hands with soap for six seconds
This photo was taken after the volunteer had washed with soap and water for 15 seconds
Meanwhile, the UK saw its worst wave of norovirus in more than five years this winter, with thousands of elderly people hospitalized as a result of the bug. It is believed that the size of the outbreak was largely due to lowered immunity caused by pandemic restrictions that prevented people from mingling in public. Experts say it could have been less widespread if people were simply better at hand washing.
‘Washing your hands isn’t just about protecting yourself from germs – it’s also about preventing others around you, who may be more vulnerable, from getting them,’ says Dr Serdar.
There is clear evidence that hand washing reduces the risk of disease. In 2015, a review of global studies of diarrhea by the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group found that it reduced the risk of the disease by up to 50 percent.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one million deaths a year could be prevented if everyone in the world routinely washed their hands.
Still, the evidence is not enough to convince some.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday’s Medical Minefield podcast, a Bristol woman who asked to be called Rebecca admits she rarely washes her hands after using the toilet. The 37-year-old said: ‘When I go to pee, I usually don’t wash my hands. I think it’s because you can’t see the germs – if you lighted up my hands and showed me where the germs are, it could be different.’