Washing Hands

I’ve been using public toilets for a long time. Not all in one go, you understand…I’ve done other things in between…?! Anyway, recently I noticed something. Maybe I’m extra vigilant at the moment due to the pandemic, but it has come to my attention just how many people don’t wash their hands after they’ve been to the toilet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How do I know they don’t? Well, without putting too fine a point on it, I’ve been in a toilet cubicle myself and heard someone flush, unlock their cubicle door, and before even a drop of water falls from the tap in the basin, the bathroom door swings shut, leaving only the disappearing sound of  footsteps trailing away. So I’d like to know (and you should want to know to), what’s up with that?

Since I’m female, and unisex toilets aren’t the norm in Singapore, I may as well just come out with it and say who I really mean when I say people: women. For all I know men skip out on washing their hands after using the bathroom too but I’m not there to witness it. So let’s just put that to one side. Anyway, I’m more interested in why than who. WHY on earth do grownups, in the midst of a pandemic no less, NOT wash their hands after they’ve have used the toilet, sat on toilet seats shared by many, and touched handles, doorknobs, locks and taps?

As the principal of a kindergarten and early learning centre, I am very familiar with handwashing protocol. In fact, you could say I’m pretty “handy” when it comes to teaching handwashing to pre-schoolers, excuse the pun! Helping young children learn the merits of hygiene and how to carry out this simple, yet potentially life-saving task, is an absolute must in any school. And so, I wonder how it is that even a 3-year-old can understand the importance of handwashing while some adults obviously think their poop doesn’t stink have the potential to infect? 

One’s poop is an important source of germs like Salmonella, E. coli O157, and norovirus that cause diarrhea, and it can spread some respiratory infections like COVID-19, adenovirus and hand-foot-mouth disease. These kinds of germs can get onto hands after people use the toilet or change a diaper,

Through my sleuthing, which, over time, has caused me to have to finish up quick smart and get out to the basins to catch the culprits before they make a getaway, what I’ve noticed they do have, is – no discernible common trait. Some are old, young, smartly dressed, not so smartly dressed, some are heading straight for the foodcourt, some are heading back to work in shops, nail and beauty salons (!) and offices nearby. If anything can be gleaned, it is this: they all seem to be in a very great rush. 

I’ve no idea how real or imagined that rush is. Maybe they’re in a rush because they genuinely have to get somewhere else quickly, or perhaps they’re in a rush because they simply don’t care for the inconvenience of taking time to practice hygiene. But whatever it is, I say this: we are privileged to live in a country where access to clean running water is freely available, unlike many other parts of the world where disease and suffering due to a lack of sanitation is a life-threatening situation on a daily basis. And we owe it to those people, ourselves and each other to take 20 seconds to apply soap and water to our hands after urinating and defecating. Simple (and as unsavoury to have to write) as that. 

So, I think it’s time to have unpleasant conversations about toileting habits. We’ve all seen signs and received health advisory messages on the importance of it, especially recently. But this is one way traffic. We don’t respond to it or discuss it publicly. Because we like to assume people just do it, because it’s just gross otherwise and doesn’t bear thinking about. But the fact is, some people just don’t do it. 

Fun Facts (taken from https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html):

1) Estimated global rates of handwashing after using the toilet are only 19%.

2) Handwashing with soap could protect about 1 out of every 3 young children who get sick with diarrhea , and almost 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections like pneumonia. 

3) Although people around the world clean their hands with water, very few use soap to wash their hands. Washing hands with soap removes germs much more effectively.

All I can say is that I witnessed it recently and the manicurist went back to work in the nail salon I had my appointment – take it from me, I have changed nail salons now.