We are celebrating World Hand Hygiene Day on May 5. There are many deadly and dangerous diseases caused by germs, bacteria and viruses all around us. All of them are trying to get inside us one way or another, often through our hands. Hand washing is the best defense against microbial attacks. The World Health Organization (WHO) launched this campaign to spread the importance of hand hygiene in healthcare.

Lethal diseases have always plagued our world. Some scientists believe that one of the major mass extinction events could have been caused by microbes. We countermeasure one and suddenly another shows up.

This has been going on since the beginning of time, yet we didn’t make the connection between handwashing and disease spreading until 1846.

It all began when a Hungarian physician named Ignaz Semmelweis noticed something peculiar. He observed that women who gave birth in the doctor's maternity ward were more likely to die from fever than those who gave birth with midwives. What was the difference, you ask? Well, the doctors would often come straight from the autopsy room to deliver babies, without washing their hands. Gross, right?

Semmelweis introduced a simple yet revolutionary concept - handwashing. He instructed doctors to wash their hands with a chlorinated lime solution, and lo and behold, the mortality rate plummeted. However, the medical community at the time wasn't too keen on the idea. They scoffed at Semmelweis, calling him crazy and dismissing his findings.

It wasn't until after his death that his work was recognized, and hand hygiene became a standard practice in healthcare facilities worldwide. Today, the WHO recommends hand hygiene as one of the most effective ways to prevent healthcare-associated infections. The proper use of hand hygiene, which includes handwashing with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, can reduce the transmission of pathogens and prevent outbreaks.

World Hand Hygiene Day serves as a reminder that clean hands are are not only essential in healthcare settings but also in our daily lives. Plain old soap and water is the most efficient and cost effective way to prevent the spread of pathogens and keep yourself healthy.

What did Mom always say? “WASH YOUR HANDS.” Good advice.