Clean message on good Handwashing Habits

As the region’s residents enjoy the spring weather and recover from a record 2017 flu season, research by Palmolive has revealed a worrying lack of hand hygiene among Victorians.

The national study, commissioned by Palmolive revealed that over 40 per cent of Victorians fail to wash their hands after sneezing, coughing or blowing their nose, risking the spread of germs among family, friends and co-workers.

Also of concern was 57 per cent of Victorians fail to wash their hands after handling money, a rate far higher than in the United States.

In the wake of this data, Palmolive encouraged Geelong, Bellarine and Surf Coast residents to reconsider their hand hygiene habits as part of its Clean Hands, Good Health (CHGH) program.

Designed for pre-school teachers to educate children on the importance of hand washing for their overall health, the CHGH program is a worldwide hand hygiene program run by Palmolive and offered to Australian pre-schools for free.

Since launching in Australia and New Zealand in 2009, the program has reached over 1.8 million preschool children and their families.

Palmolive Clean Hands Good Health ambassador Kate Hickey said effective hand hygiene is vital in stopping the spread of germs.

“It is important that children learn proper handwashing and hand hygiene habits at a young age to ensure good hand hygiene habits are carried throughout their lives,” Ms Hickey said.

“While most of us wash our hands every day, many aren’t practising hand hygiene properly or enough due to time-constraints or lack of insight as to when, where and how they should be doing so.”

While it is recommended that individuals wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap, the national study found 79 per cent of Victorians were washing their hands for 15 seconds or less.

“By improving our collective handwashing habits we can work together to reduce the spread of germs and diseases such as the flu and the common cold,” Ms Hickey said.

For more information on Palmolive’s Clean Hands Good Health Program, head to palmolivecleanhands.com.au.