Mistletoe kisses are fine, but dont shake hands

We’ve all heard people say “I won’t kiss you, I’ve got a cold”. But new research warns that we may be far more at risk of passing on an infection by shaking someone’s hand than in sharing a kiss.

Kissing is fine - but no hand touching!

A group of hygiene experts from the United States and the UK have published the first detailed report on hand hygiene in the home and community, rather than in hospital and healthcare settings. They say that if we want to avoid catching flu or protect ourselves from organisms such as MRSA, salmonella or C. difficile, then we have to start in our own homes, by paying greater attention to good hand hygiene.

Professor Sally Bloomfield, one of the report’s authors, is the chairman of the International Scientific Forum for Home Hygiene, the international organisation which produced report said: “With the colds and flu season approaching, it’s important to know that good hand hygiene can really reduce the risks. What is important is not just knowing that we need to wash our hands but knowing when to wash them. Preventing the spread of colds and flu means good respiratory hygiene, which is quite different from good food hygiene.”

Good hygiene at home prevents organisms spreading from one family member to another. By reducing the number of carriers in the community, the likelihood of infections being carried into health care facilities by new patients and visitors is reduced. Good hygiene at home also means fewer infections, which means fewer patients demanding antibiotics from the GP, and fewer resistant strains developing and circulating in the community.

However the researchers are aware that good hygiene is about more than just washing our hands. Professor Elaine Larson, of the Mailman School of Public Health in New York and another co-author, said: “Because so much attention has been paid to getting people to wash their hands, there is a danger that people can come to believe this is all they need to do to avoid getting sick.”

The report is published in the American Journal of Infection Control.