Global Hand Washing

Day
15th October

Dr.T.V.Rao MD
Early History - Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes

As early as 1843, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes

advocated hand washing to prevent childbed
fever. Holmes was horrified by the prevalence in
American hospitals of the fever, which he
believed to be an infectious disease passed to
pregnant women by the hands of doctors. He
recommended that a physician finding two cases
of the disease in his practice within a short time
should remove himself from obstetrical duty for a
month. Holmes's ideas were greeted with
disdain by many physicians of his time.
 Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis Proved
the Hypothesis – Many ignored
In the late 1840's, Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was an
assistant in the maternity wards of a Vienna
hospital. There he observed that the mortality
rate in a delivery room staffed by medical
students was up to three times higher than in a
second delivery room staffed by midwives. In
fact, women were terrified of the room staffed by
the medical students. Semmelweis observed
that the students were coming straight from their
lessons in the autopsy room to the delivery
room.
Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis postulated
He postulated that the students might be
carrying the infection from their
dissections to birthing mothers. He
ordered doctors and medical students
to wash their hands with a chlorinated
solution before examining women in labor.
The mortality rate in his maternity wards
eventually dropped to less than one
percent.
Hand washing a Tribute to Dr.
Ignaz Semmelweis
Why Hand Washing
Hand washing for
hand hygiene is the
act of cleansing the
hands with water or
another liquid, with
the use of soap, for
the purpose of
removing soil, dirt,
and/or
microorganisms
Why Hand Washing
Human feces are the
main source of
diarrheal pathogens.
They are also the source
of shigellosis, typhoid,
cholera, all other common
endemic gastro-enteric
infections, and some
respiratory infections:
just one gram of human
feces can contain 10
million viruses and one
million bacteria.
Scientific Proof to Hand Washing
Hand washing interrupts the transmission of
disease agents and so can significantly reduce
diarrhea and respiratory infections, as well as
skin infections and trachoma. A recent review
(Curtis and Cairncross 2003) suggests that
handwashing with soap, particularly after contact
with feces (post-defecation and after handling a
child’s stool), can reduce diarrheal incidence by
42-47 percent, while ongoing work by Rabie et
al. suggests a 30 percent reduction in respiratory
infections is possible through hand washing
 Unicef on use of Soap
Unicef says using
soap to wash hands,
particularly after
contact with excreta,
can reduce diarrhoeal
diseases by over 40%
and respiratory
infections by 30%.
Hand Washing Steps
Effectiveness of Hand Washing
This hygienic behaviour has been shown to cut the
number of child deaths from diarrhea (the second
leading cause of child deaths) by almost half and
from pneumonia (the leading cause of child
deaths) by one-quarter. There are five critical
times in washing hands with soap and/or using of
a hand antiseptic related to fecal-oral transmission:
after using a bathroom (private or public), after
changing a diaper, before feeding a child, before
eating and before preparing food or handling raw
meat, fish, or poultry, or any other situation leading
to potential contamination
Sir William Osler on Hand
Washing
Soap,
Water and
Common
sense,
are still the best
Antiseptics.
The Global Hand washing Day
The Global Hand
washing Day took place
for the first time on
October 15, 2008, the
date appointed by UN
General Assembly in
accordance with year
2008 as the
International Year of
Sanitation
Global Hand washing Day
Global Hand washing
Day is a campaign to
motivate and mobilize
millions around the world
to wash their hands with
soap. The campaign is
dedicated to raising
awareness of hand
washing with soap as a
key approach to disease
prevention.
 Soap saves lives
The campaign was
initiated to reduce
mortality rates related to
diarrhea diseases by
introducing simple
behavioural changes,
such as hand washing
with soap, which
according to research can
reduce the rate by almost
50 per cent.
 Why Hand Washing Reduces
Diarrheal Diseases
Diarrhoeal diseases
kill more than 1.5
million children
under five each
year but the simple
act of hand
washing can
reduce these disease
s by >45%.
 Spirit of 2008 continues
Initiated in 2008 by the Global Public-
Private Partnership for Hand washing with
Soap, Global Hand washing Day is
endorsed by a wide array of governments,
international institutions, civil society
organisations, NGOs, private companies
and individuals around the globe.
Focus the Attention on Children
The driving theme for
Global Hand washing
Day is children and
schools, and the main
objectives of this
global celebration are:
* foster and support a
global and local
culture of hand
washing with soap
 CDC on Hand Washing
When you should wash hands
According to the Centres
for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), if you
don't wash your hands
frequently, you can pick
up germs from other
sources and then infect
yourself. You're at risk
every time you touch your
eyes, nose, or mouth.
By washing your hand – you are
free fro Microbes
By frequently washing
your hands the right way,
you'll wash away germs
— such as bacteria and
viruses — that you have
picked up from other
people, through
contaminated water and
food, from tainted
surfaces, or from animals
and animal waste.
Global Hand washing Day 2009
will..
Revolve around schools and children. On
Global Hand washing Day, playgrounds,
classrooms, community centres, and the
public spaces of towns and cities will be
awash with activity to drive hand washing
behaviour change on a scale never seen
before, bringing the critical issue to centre
stage.
Teach them earlier in life
Hand washing a better option in
prevention
The two biggest killers of
children in the developing
world today are diarrheal
disease and respiratory
tract infections. The
simple act of washing
hands with soap can cut
diarrhea risk by almost
half, and respiratory tract
infection by a third. This
makes hand washing a
better option for disease
prevention than any
single vaccine
Hand washing is a behaviour
change
Hand washing with soap is among the
most effective and inexpensive ways to
prevent diarrheal diseases and
pneumonia, which together are
responsible for the majority of child
deaths. This behaviour is projected to
become a significant contribution to
meeting the Millennium Development Goal
of reducing deaths among children under
the age of five by two-thirds by 2015
 Create awarness at several
places
Hand washing is likely to
be especially important
where people congregate
(schools, offices), where
ill or vulnerable people
are concentrated
(hospitals, nursing
homes), where food is
prepared and shared and
in homes, especially
where there are young
children and vulnerable
adults.
 UNICEF Educates
UNICEF recognizes
the potential of
children as agents
of hand washing
behaviour change
by coupling water
and sanitation
improvements in
schools with
hygiene education.
Make matters simple – Just
wash
Support the good ideas
Create a Poster Awareness in the
Schools
Make all Kids partners in Hand
washing
Washing hands – a Great
Praying Hands
Created for Dr.T.V.Rao MD’s ‘e’
learning Programme for
Developing world
Email
doctortvrao@gmail.com