Survey finds airport restroom users seldom wash

Sun Times ^ | 09/16/03 | JIM RITTER

[bedolido]

More than one of four users of O'Hare Airport washrooms didn't wash their hands after going to the bathroom, according to a survey that found even dirtier hands in New York's airport.

But in Toronto, 96 percent of airport bathroom users washed up. The high rate likely is due to fears over the SARS virus, which hit the Canadian city hard, researchers said.

Observers who hung out in airport bathrooms spied on 7,541 users in six cities. Observers were instructed to comb their hair and put on makeup while discreetly recording hand-washing behavior.

The percentage of non-washers was 29 percent in New York, 26 percent in Chicago, San Francisco and Miami and 19 percent in Dallas.

"The same people that fail to wash after using restrooms go on to pick up children, handle food, greet family and use other public facilities," said Dr. Judy Daly, secretary of the American Society for Microbiology, which sponsored the survey.

The survey, conducted last month by Wirthlin Worldwide, was reported at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy at McCormick Place.

The findings indicate many people lie when it comes to hand-washing. In an earlier survey, 95 percent of adults claimed they always wash their hands after using public restrooms.

With the exception of Toronto, there has been no significant increase in hand-washing compared with observational studies in 1996 and 2000. And researchers fear rates could drop in Toronto as SARS fears ebb. During the epidemic's peak, the media bombarded residents with reminders to wash their hands.

Germs enter your body if your unwashed hands touch your nose, mouth, eyes and open wounds. Hand-washing is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce the transmission of colds, flu, diarrhea, SARS and other diseases.

Health officials advise washing before preparing or eating food, treating a wound or a sick person and inserting or removing contact lenses. Wash after going to the bathroom; handling uncooked meat, poultry and fish; changing a diaper; blowing your nose; coughing; sneezing; taking out the garbage, or handling an animal.

Use soap and warm running water. Rub hands together for at least 10 to 15 seconds. Wash all surfaces thoroughly, including wrists and under the fingernails. Forget anti-bacterial soap; ordinary soap works just fine.

Some aren't keeping it clean

A survey found the following percentages of people do not wash their hands after using airport restrooms:

Dallas/Fort Worth: males, 31 percent; females, 8 percent
John F. Kennedy, New York: males, 37 percent; females, 22 percent
Miami Dade County: males, 30 percent; females, 21 percent
O'Hare: males, 38 percent; females, 15 percent
San Francisco: males, 20 percent; females, 41 percent
Toronto: males, 5 percent; females, 3 percent
Total: males, 26 percent, females, 17 percent
SOURCE: American Society for Microbiology

[r9etb]

Well, the headline sure doesn't match the stats, which show that in all cases, the vast majority of folks do wash their hands.

I always wash my hands -- even though I almost never pee on them....

[steveo]

Observers were instructed to comb their hair and put on makeup while discreetly recording hand-washing behavior.

If some guy is combing his hair and putting on makeup when I'm finished, I'm getting the heck outta there asap!

[PatrickHenry]

Warning: never shake hands with anyone at the airport!

[Damocles]

OMG we're all gonna die!

What the heck do these "researchers" think we have an immune system for.

Ah, the great unwashed...

[Atlas Sneezed]

News flash:

My "pee-pee" is far cleaner and has fewer infections germs (none of concern to me) than any surface in any airport restroom.

A physician realtive tells me (in the context of kiddie wading pools) that urine is essentially sterile.

"Number two" is another matter.

[CygnusXI]

Ok...

Being a guy it's really hard to pee on ones own hands.
So. You get up in the morning, take a shower and get dressed.

Now. you do whatever.. work, play, putz around the house.

All the while your "willie" is safely (and cleanly) tucked away while your Hands are-- touching doorknobs, wiping your eyes/nose, shaking others hands, etc..

Seems to me your wanker is clean and your hands are filthy.

It makes more sense to wash BEFORE you pee. Keep that peter clean!!

:D

[boris]

A Cornell student and a Harvard student are standing at urinals next to each other during halftime at a football game. (Each is wearing his school's jacket.) The Cornell guy finishes first and heads for the door. The Harvard guy supercilliously tells him: "At Havhad they teach us to wash our hands after we piss."

The Cornell guy considers a moment and replies, "At Cornell they teach us not to piss on our hands."

You may substitute school names as you like.

================================================

Apropos of nothing, I witnessed a fellow in the "Ten Items or Less" line in a market in Cambridge, MA. He had like 25 items. The checker said to him, "Are you from M.I.T. and can't read or Harvard and can't count?"

--Boris

[PBRSTREETGANG]

The percentage of non-washers was 29 percent in New York, 26 percent in Chicago, San Francisco and Miami and 19 percent in Dallas.

Don't worry, once you exclude the airport food service people, the percentage of non-washers is actually much smaller.

[bedolido]

what surprises me are the stats on the females... clean up your act ladies!

[RadioAstronomer]

I scrub my hands after using a restroom (look like a doc going in for surgery LOL), especially a public one. If at all possible, I do not open the door with my hands as I leave also. I also carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer for when washing is not convenient, like just before eating when sitting in an airplane.

[TontoKowalski]

My "pee-pee" is far cleaner and has fewer infections germs (none of concern to me) than any surface in any airport restroom.

I'm with you here. Most public restrooms are horrible. I tend to avoid washing my hands after a leak unless I'm home or at work or in a restaurant. Restaurants tend to have clean bathrooms.

I've been in Philipino whorehouses more sanitary than the WalMart restroom I was in last week. It looked like someone had crapped on the wall.

[Registered]

Last time I was in an airport I got done washing my hands..as I was headed out, a guy that just got done started to walk out, I looked at him and raised an eyebrow while looking toward the sinks...he turned around and washed his hands.

Just doing my part for the cause of cleanliness!

[InvisibleChurch]

that's why God gave us immune systems

[OWK]

Actually, the chance of encountering a pathogenic microorganism from touching the fixtures in a public restroom, is far greater than the risk from touching one's own genitalia.

[ErnBatavia]

My "pee-pee" is far cleaner

That's why I wash my hands BEFORE....

[PatrickHenry]

the risk from touching one's own genitalia.

Yes. Emphasis on one's own.

[bedolido]

That's why I wash my hands BEFORE....

Great idea... I tried washing my hands during but the guy next to me told me to get my hands out of his urinal.

[Wright is right!]

Hey, Redge, ya know that, depending on your apparel, it IS possible to do yer bidness without your hands coming into contact with your privates. Especially if you're wearing elastic-waisted jogging pants or shorts. No contact = no need to wash.

Michael

[ladyjane]

There's another story about Hahvahd men who are taught to wash their hands before they pee.