Clean hands challenge, what the fuck is this about?

[NineInchNails]

So in two weeks time at work we will be having someone come in to do a clean hands challenge. My understanding is that this involves showing us how dirty our hands actually are using some machine.
Firstly, why bother? we have so much work to do, what on earth is the point?
Secondly, I probably have germy hands, I don't use anti bacterial anything! Gels, kitchen sprays nothing. The last time I was sick from work was two years ago and both my kids have not been off this year and only one of them once last year.
I think it's all ridiculous, dirt is good! Anyone with me or am I just a filthy cow

It's antibiotic awareness month - could be why they doing it

I have an impeccable handwashing technique due to my mother, but the damn machine still managed to call me out...it was the nail beds! Not even under the nails the damn beds!

I am wondering what a nail bed is. By the cuticle? I'm going to be so good at this odd challenge now

I can see why you think its pointless but give it a go before you make your mind up.

I don't think people wash their hands enough.

Gels are all very well but they are NOT a substitute for handwashing.

Yes the cuticle bit around the nail on top. But I'm at a disadvantage, mine are all raggedy because I bite them....

You should only use gel when your hands are not visibly dirty and you have no access to soap and water

I had to do this at work but it was a hospital. The palms and between fingers often get missed as well so interlock fingers one hand in top of the other then swap over. You'll definitely win

I was taught hand washing technique because of some treatment I had to self administer. It made me realise that ordinary hand washing is totally ineffective. That is fine in some scenarios, but in others I now do what I was taught.
And effective hand washing is much better than anti bacterial sprays or gels.

I wash my hands with soap. Soap is actually quite antibacterial and sufficient for everyday purposes.

The side of the hand as well, down from your little finger to the wrists as well as the tips of your fingers.

Soap and water is better than antibacterial shite for every day use around the house IMO.

Google the seven steps of hand washing technique. If more people washed their hands properly we could eradicate loads of outbreaks of infections.

It's deeper than that though....that cream really sticks to your hands, so if you're the type that has beautifully moisturised hands, you're on to a winner. If you have dry hands with cracked skin around your nail bed, etc., it doesn't matter how good your handwashing is because it's going to stick like glue. And that's what it's like in reality - germs will get in anywhere they can.

I have a colleague who washes her hands for minutes at a time. She also uses anti bac gel all day (has some on her desk) and uses anti bac wipes to clean her desk, keyboard and phone every morning.

Guess what - she's always ill and one of her children has been diagnosed with OCD about his hygiene issues.

Unnecessary to do it for minutes...good handwash ingredients takes between 20-40 seconds. My mum tells little kids to sing happy birthday twice :)

Sick employees means loss of productivity. I imagine it is profitable for your employers to spend 5 minutes trying to shock everybody into washing their hands more, in order to reduce paid sick leave this winter.

Unnecessary to do it for minutes...good handwash ingredients takes between 20-40 seconds. My mum tells little kids to sing happy birthday twice

I was taught one verse of the National Anthem - around 30 to 40 seconds.

Soap and water(hot or cold), all round hands between fingers down to wrists while singing one verse of National Anthem. After Lavatory, before preparing food, before eating food.

I work on different offices and some of the grimy keyboards and phones etc are disgusting. I turn the keyboard opside down and tap it on the desk. You should see the filth that comes out. Then I wipe all the grimy earpieces before I'll use them. And the phone. I don't understand why companies don't spend the money to get them cleaned.
That's where a the fecking germs are.

As PP have said it may well just be the UV light showing up where you haven't washed the special cream off. We did this at uni the other day and so many people thought it was showing us the germs in our hands! To be fair, the lecturer didn't explain what the cream did and I only knew as I'd done one before and wondered how it made germs show up!

Gel doesn't always work!

We did this during a show, work in an area hand hygiene is important, it was a swab that went into a machine and showed bacteria levels.

me being a clever arse applied hand gel just before and yet the even more clever arse tester swabbed around my wedding ring and they were higher than the bloke who had just been cleaning loos

Turns out after a while those gel things are shit and nothing beats soap and water and a good scrub.

So another tip, take all your rings off, nearly impossible to get clean, hence jewellery being banned in SCBU

Are your keyboards ever professionally cleaned? If not, then I would say your organisation is a bit hypocritical.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7377002.stm

I would guess maybe your HR dept is trying to reduce sickness absences.

If the majority of people in your office commute in by public transport, think of all the bacteria/viruses picked up by e.g. holding on to the pole on the train/bus and then not washing their hands. They then sit down at the computer and type with those hands. They then eat their sandwich with those hands etc. Not a bad idea to try and reduce the levels of bacteria/ viruses causing people to take time off sick.

I have to be assessed on my hand washing technique once a year. The trick is not to run the cream in to your hands too well I do it just enough so that it's not visibly greasy on my hands, don't rub it in really well like handcream or it's really difficult to scrub off

The one place I've worked that had people come in to clean keyboards and phones was a medical library. If they felt it was worth including in their budget - well, it made an impression on me.