What If You Stopped Washing Your Hands?

think back to the last time you washed your hands was it an hour ago more how did you do it let's face it if you're like most people it was probably a quick rinse and a half-hearted wipe on your jeans well there's a world full of germs out there and believe it or not your hands are going to encounter millions if not billions of them on a daily basis properly washing your hands is probably the single most important and effective defense mechanism we have against contracting potentially deadly diseases and that means soaping lathering and scrubbing for at least 20 seconds the quick rinse errs among you are probably wondering why bother how bad can our hands really be after all they look clean enough right well you better look closer because your hands aren't as pristine as they may seem if you were to look at your hands through a microscope you'd see that they're actually teeming with bacteria with over 1,000 miniscule pathogens per square inch now before you start freaking out and scrubbing your hands with bleach it's worth noting that human beings come into contact with over 60,000 different types of germs every single day and only one or two percent of those are dangerous to someone with a working immune system however a 1 or 2 percent chance of getting an illness that could leave you bedridden for weeks months or even years is still a risk you'd probably rather not take fortunately if you make sure to wash your hands properly throughout the day you drop your odds of getting an infection to pretty much zero still not convinced that washing your hands is worthwhile as it seems well let's see how often you come into contact with germs on a daily basis be honest what's the first thing you reach for every single morning that's right it's your phone equal parts alarm clock and social media meme machine the humble cell phone is a perhaps concerning ly integral part of the average person's morning routine unfortunately and unsurprisingly it's also covered in bacteria after all your phone spends a ton of time at two very germy places in your hands and by your mouth that's right the germs from your hands and saliva are having a little party on your phone as we speak just waiting to be reintroduced to your system and truthfully when was the last time you disinfected your phone probably never by starting your day on your phone you've already got more than enough reason to give your hands a thorough wash which takes us to our next stage of the morning routine the bathroom most of us have to urinate after waking up from a long night's sleep now after hearing just how horrific the Sanitary standard your cell phone sets is you're probably not thinking too optimistically about your lowly latrine however you'll be surprised to learn that the old porcelain throne is actually relatively clean that's right toilets typically have less than 1,000 bacteria per square inch a similar concentration to your skin since our bottoms are really the only things that touch them in comparison there's way more bacteria in the sink think millions due to the remnants of food and dirt that can get caught in our drain pipes and while most of us will think to give the toilet a thorough wipe down while cleaning the bathroom not many of us think to go into the pipes now that your bladder is relieved you're all washed up and ready to go it's probably time to get out of the house and into the office of course you should make sure you've got the essentials before you leave phone keys wallet or purse oops looks like we've encountered another Jeremy Trojan horse that's right your most loyal money holding device has been conspiring against your hygiene this whole time purses are like a sponge for bacteria picking up microscopic guests from wherever you set them down often floors tables or public bathrooms and while you might think / hope that these places are properly cleaned and well-maintained let's face it they're not and though purses are gross on the outside wallets tend to stay ugly on the inside due to the things we keep inside of them paper money is some of the dirtiest stuff we handle on a daily basis picking a bacteria viruses and even traces of other illicit substances that we won't get into the worst part is wallets are generally kept in your pockets where they're able to warm up to your body's temperature also known as the perfect temperature for bacteria to multiply like most people working in a bustling city you'll probably decide to take public transport to work after all it is the environmentally and financially friendly choice however it could also be the riskiest hygiene choice you've made all day afterall you're spending an extended period of time in a place that a ton of people have passed through and you don't know what diseases they're carrying just holding a subway handrail in a busy city like New York can transfer as much bacteria is shaking 10,000 people's hands while most of the bacteria you encounter will be harmless and may even help boost your immune system studies show that Subway's tend to have a higher concentration of bacteria that can cause respiratory problems and skin infections let's say though that you end up making it to work infection free what should you keep an eye out for here unfortunately you may have your work cut out for you avoiding bacteria in the workplace let's start with the elevator you could take the stairs but you're on the fifth floor and you're just not feeling it today by pressing the innocent little round button you're unwittingly allowing tons of bacteria the chance to hop onto your fingertips a part of your body that you're then highly likely to use to touch your mouth eyes ears and nose the problem isn't elevators specific either literally anything with buttons ATMs vending machines light switches is probably covered with bacteria from people touching it all the time and unfortunately these items tend to be disinfected relatively infrequently protip if you don't want to get sick from button related germs but still insist on not washing your hands just try using your knuckles to push instead of your fingertips you're still likely to allow for germ transfer but the odds of you sticking your knuckle in your ear up your nose are way lower and therefore it's harder for the germs to get into a vulnerable place and cause an annoying infection the water fountain is an extra dangerous place for germs as it combines buttons which is we've just learned her to be distrusted with moisture which creates favorable conditions for bacteria to multiply in addition to this sick people need to drink a lot of water so the odds of you catching Kevin from accountings cough or even higher this isn't just a theory either the numbers do back it up studies show that water fountains have twice as much bacteria as your toilet seat maybe dogs have the right idea after all so say you forego the water breaks and decide to hunker down and hammer out some work at your desk instead that ought to keep your hands clean nope your keyboard is a journey journey place - it's continually touched throughout the day and is perfectly lined with crevices for dirt and crumbs to fall into that can then help foster bacteria there have even been horror stories with mice and office buildings running across keyboards and dropping feces in them in fact one report claimed that a particularly disgusting keyboard had to be quarantined after it was discovered to have more than 150 times the acceptable limit of bacteria so after a stressful day of working hard and trying to avoid germs what do you do to unwind maybe hit the gym do a little yoga sit down and watch some TV perhaps well you're in luck because all of those activities are perfectly germ-free just kidding hygiene wise they kind of suck two gyms and yoga studios are kind of designed for people to sweat all over them and although general workout etiquette dictates cleaning your station or mat before and after use it's not always a guarantee that your fellow workout buddies are holding up their end of the bargain still a little diligence on your end can help reduce the risk of bacteria transmission unfortunately watching TV as per usual is probably the unhealthier option odds are you're handling a remote control a remote control that you haven't disinfected since the day you bought it think back to those days you've stayed at home sick huddled up on the couch with a box of tissues and the TV remote flicking through all the stations and eventually settling on an old episode of Maury that's the same remote you touch right before dipping your hands into the big communal bowl of popcorn on family movie night experts actually recommend that you wipe down your remote as often as once a week in addition to wiping it down of a sick person uses it if all this germ talk is making you want to crawl up into bed and never leave again well don't your bed is just as riddled with bacteria as the outside world if not more in fact your bed sheets and pillow covers can be more than 15,000 times journeyer than your toilet and these aren't harmless bacteria we're talking about either common bedroom bacteria can cause pneumonia and food poisoning of allowed to multiply let's face it you live in a germy world and nowhere is safe not even your own bed so what can we do to protect ourselves wash hands wash your hands while preparing food before eating food and before serving food wash your hands after blowing your nose or sneezing and wash your hands if someone sneezes around you wash your hands if you touch a pet or a garbage can when in doubt wash them okay maybe we're over stressing it a little but it is possible to wash and sanitize your hands too much which led to the opposite problem by eliminating friendly immune system boosting bacteria which can allow hostile bacteria to sneak in unannounced so don't be too obsessive about it just make sure you wash your hands properly a couple times throughout the day and you should be fine and again by properly we mean rinsing with warm water soaping and lathering for around 20 seconds scrubbing between the fingers and under your fingernails and then rinsing and drying with a paper towel or air dryer the world is full of bacteria but you don't need to lock yourself in a prison of antibacterial soap just be aware and try to clean yourself in your surroundings a little bit more frequently especially before doing something like eating or touching your face it's always easier to go the lazy route but a little hygiene can go a long way stay safe out there brainiacs don't forget to Like and subscribe if you like this video and head on over to the Brainiac YouTube channel for more hygiene hysterics see you next time you [Music]

Channel: Brainiac

Views: 140,037

Rating: 4.8705921 out of 5

Keywords: Hygiene, Hands, Wash, Soap, Bacteria, Pneumonia, Bed, Illness, Sick, Workplace, animated story, animation, brainiac, brainiard, wash your hands, don't wash hands, washing hands protocol, education channel, educational, never wash your hands, dirty hands

Id: 9jbgmwJ7r1c

Length: 10min 2sec (602 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 01 2020