Hygiene 101

Yesterday in class, someone did a presentation about OCD which led to a question about washing hands. Larry was wondering what percentage of people actually wash their hands after using the bathroom, and said it would be something to blog about. So I looked at some websites online and I'm having a hard time believing them. An article in the New York Times said a study was done where they surveyed people about this, and then had an observer track it as well. 91% of adults surveyed said they wash their hands after using the bathroom, but when the observer went into the bathroom, only 82% of the people actually washed their hands.

But really, if they SEE someone observing them to see if they're washing their hands, aren't they going to wash their hands? And were they even using soap? Almost every time I use a public restroom, I see women run their hands under the water then leave. GREAT IDEA, GENIUS - now your STILL DIRTY hands are dripping with water, and the water is now going to SPREAD those germs! Last I knew, water is not an antiseptic.
And come on, 91% of you do NOT wash your hands afterward, so don't even write that on a survey. I would say just in a public women's restroom alone, about 80% of women wash their hands, and maybe half of those actually use soap. Really. And I don't even want to think about the percentage of men, because that's even more disturbing than women not washing their hands (you do the math).

Even more gross - only 64% of men and 82% of women washed their hands after changing a baby's diaper. ...I don't even know how to respond to that.

Now to this I say... no wonder these people with OCD wash their hands so frequently. People are disgusting.