Beating infection at the basin

The dreaded cold and flu season is upon us, and while there
may not yet be a cure for these diseases, there is a secret weapon for
prevention, and it’s much cheaper than bottles of vitamins –
hand-washing.
Bacteria can reproduce every 20 minutes. By the end of the
day, the germs on our hands collected from contact with surfaces and other
people, have multiplied into enormous colonies of potential infection. These
germs are spread from our hands to our faces when we eat, blow our noses, or rub
our eyes.
In most cases, healthy people are able to have numerous close
encounters with bacteria during the day without being affected. When something’s
“going around” however, disease-causing bacteria become part of the daily
cocktail we transfer to our bodies. These pathogens can include the common cold
and flu bugs, as well as a number of pathogens which cause gastrointestinal
disorders such as infectious diarrhoea.
Yet despite knowing that their hands are breeding grounds for
infection, many people don’t make hand-washing an automatic part of their daily
lives. The power of hand-washing is not to be underestimated. Two-million
children around the world die each year from diarrhoea. It is estimated that as
many as 46% of them could have been saved by the simple use of soap and
water.
Essential hand-washing times are after using the toilet,
after touching animals or animal waste, before and after preparing food, and
before eating. Experts also recommend you wash your hands after blowing your
nose, coughing or sneezing into your hands, and after handling
rubbish.
These lessons of hand-washing are best learnt young. Children
learn from example, so the best way to ensure they develop the habit of
hand-washing is for the adults around them to show them the
ropes.
Thousands of learners around Gauteng are getting the message
in a more entertaining way, thanks to a hand-washing and hygiene initiative run
by Steiner Hygiene, Kimberley-Clark Professional, and Steiner Environmental
Solutions.
Dubbed Operation Deep Clean, the initiative uses a cast of
colourful characters in an educational roadshow which reaches around 15 000 to
20 000 pre-primary and primary school learners a month, teaching children the
importance of hand-washing and personal hygiene.
Since many of the schools visited don’t have the facilities
where learners can practise what the initiative is preaching, Operation Deep
Clean goes a step further. It helps schools clean up their appalling bathrooms,
and is attempting to set them up with corporate sponsored hygiene contracts for
ongoing upkeep and sustainability. Already 20 suburban and 40
township schools in Gauteng have received a Deep Clean sponsored by Steiner
Environmental Solutions, with more to follow.
So take a leaf out of Operation Deep Clean’s book, and spread
the hand-washing message. It’s still the best and easiest way to curb the spread
of the worst winter nasties.
For further information contact:
Anli Moller – Steiner Hygiene
Brand Manager
Tel: 011 923 9568
Or
Ses Matlapeng – Kimberly-Clark Professional
Product Manager Washroom Category
Tel: 011 456 5716