Only 5 pc of bathroom users wash hands correctly

Just 5 percent of people, who use the bathroom, wash their hands long enough to kill the germs that can cause infections, a new study has revealed.

Researchers at the Michigan State University have found that 33 percent didn't use soap and 10 percent didn't wash their hands at all.

The study, based on observations of 3,749 people in public restrooms, suggested that fifteen percent of men didn't wash their hands at all, compared with 7 percent of women.

Carl Borchgrevink, associate professor of hospitality business and lead investigator on the study said that these findings were surprising to them because past research suggested that proper hand washing is occurring at a much higher rate.

Researchers, who observed hand washing in restrooms in bars, restaurants and other public establishments, found that people are only washing their hands, on average, for about 6 seconds.

It was suggested that only 50 percent of men used soap, compared with 78 percent of women and people were less likely to wash their hands if the sink was dirty.

The study also found that hand washing was more prevalent earlier in the day, which according to Borchgrevink suggests that people who were out at night for a meal or drinks were in a relaxed mode and hand washing became less important.

People were more likely to wash their hands if a sign encouraging them to do so was present.

The study was published in the Journal of Environmental Health.