Why should you stop using hand dryers right now?

Enlightening facts on why you should stop using hand dryers right now and instead use paper towels.

We understand how crucial it is to wash your hands, especially in these circumstances. When it comes to preventing a health disaster, cleaning your hands goes a long way. But did you realize that drying your hands is equally as vital as washing them? It is “critical that you fully dry your hands after washing them,” explains Nesochi Okeke-Igbokwe, MD, a physician and health specialist.

Germs are easily transferred or picked up by wet hands. If your hands have not been fully cleansed, you may leak bacteria-infected water, and whatever wet hands contact may become contaminated. Bacteria are more prone to spreading from moist skin than from dry skin.

Is there evidence these jet dryers are indeed so filthy?

During an international investigation, Staphylococcus aureus, which causes a variety of illnesses including MRSA, was detected three times more frequently on the surface of air dryers than on paper towel dispensers! There is some research that supports the germy hand dryer notion-

According to experts, germs are dispersed throughout the atmosphere when people do not thoroughly wash their hands before placing them inside a shaft of hot air. According to Mark Wilcox, professor of medical microbiology at the University of Leeds, the dryer produces an “aerosol that contaminates the toilet area.”

Will hand dryers help viruses like Covid-19 spread?

A top doctor recently wrote to England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty to express her “grave worry” that electric hand dryers in bathrooms might enhance the danger of coronavirus transmission due to aerosol production caused by high intensity electric hand dryers.

Charlotte Fowler, a consultant radiologist, raised the possibility of a more widespread spread if people did not completely wash their hands. She requested that Professor Whitty turn off the hand dryers until the matter could be thoroughly investigated.

What is the most sanitary method of drying hands?

The most sanitary way to dry your hands is with paper towels. As a result, most health care facilities currently employ paper towels. Handless hand towel dispenser

The Department of Health’s hand washing advice concludes with the recommendation to use clean towels instead of dryers. The NHS’s current recommendations on how to effectively control the transmission of coronavirus by being more sanitary include time to dry hands with paper towels.

Paper towels, as opposed to germ-spreading hand dryers, have been proven to absorb the water and bacteria left on the hands, and if disposed of appropriately, there is less risk of cross-contamination.

Bottom line: Always, always, always dry your hands.

The riskiest alternative is to not dry your hands at all. According to Ranekka Dean, Director of Infection Control at NYU Winthrop Hospital on Long Island, each drying method has advantages and disadvantages, but as long as your hands are fully dry, you’re making a healthy choice. “Several considerations, including practicality, personal choice, cost, space, and availability, may influence the decision to employ a certain drying technique.” If you use a bath towel, recall how horrible it is not to wash it every week.

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p class=”root-block-node” data-changed=”true” data-paragraphid=”2″>Because jet air dryers are clearly linked to germ transmission in restrooms, it may be preferable to avoid them entirely and encourage any organization you contact to switch to paper towels as soon as possible.