14 DAY TRIAL // A recent global survey conducted in South Africa, Italy, Germany, the United Arabian States, India, Malaysia, UK and US has investigated the importance given by population to the simple action of washing hands regularly, informs health24.com news.
The statistics show that 45% of South African population underestimate the benefits of hand-washing and do not consider it to be the easiest method of keeping bacteria and diseases away. Moreover, 10% of the people in South Africa admitted in the survey that they do not wash their hands after visiting the toilet.
Besides the remaining 55% South Africans who regarded hand washing as crucial for not spreading gems or bacteria, the survey also found that 15% of the Indians, 57% of the British population and 68% of the Americans are aware of the gloomy outcomes drawn upon by skipping hand washing.
Medical experts strongly advise people on any occasion to wash their hands regularly, not only after they use the toilet or make contact with dust or dirt. However, according to recent findings, it seems that many individuals are still not aware of the fact that carrying bacteria on their hands may lead to disastrous outcomes.
For instance, doctors have repeatedly warned that skipping hand washing may bring about severe conditions such as influenza, dysentery, salmonella poisoning, a type of hepatitis etc. Also, unwashed hands can cause the spread of lethal communicable diseases such as cholera or typhoid fever.
"These results show that simple hand-washing is still under-rated as a very effective method of disease prevention. Despite ongoing campaigns to highlight hand-washing's importance, there is still plenty to be done to raise awareness of the effectiveness of a thorough hand-wash," concluded Prof. Barry Schoub, Executive Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in Johannesburg.