Most People Don’t Do This 1 Important Habit When They Come Home From Running Errands

It’s hard to resist the temptation to roll your eyes when someone talks about the importance of washing your hands. Not only have you heard this since you were a kid, but you also survived a pandemic—you know the deal with hand hygiene.

But, a new survey from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases finds that we’re still falling short overall on hand washing. The latest statistic? One in five people say they don’t even bother to wash their hands. “We were big into hand hygiene during the COVID pandemic, but we’ve sort of let our guard down,” says Thomas Russo, MD, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York. 

The kinda, sorta good news: Most people (69 percent) wash their hands after using the bathroom. Unfortunately, only 48 percent give their hands a scrub after handling food, while 39 percent wash up after doing things like changing diapers or scooping their dog’s poop.

But the survey also flags less obvious situations when you should be washing your hands, and probably aren’t. Nearly half of the adults surveyed said that they forget or decide not to wash their hands after everyday errands and appointments, such as visiting grocery stores, restaurants, or coffee shops, and going to healthcare settings like a doctor's office, pharmacy, clinic, or hospital.

It’s not like there’s a sink with soap and water waiting outside any of these spots, so it's easy to make handwashing after your errands tricky. So, what's the best way to keep handwashing at the top of mind—and how much of a difference does handwashing make in keeping you healthy? We tapped our infectious disease specialists, and here's what they had to say.

Why washing hands with soap and water is the gold standard

You’re probably already aware of this on some level, but a recap never hurts. When you’re out at a grocery store, coffee shop, or restaurant, you’re touching things—door knobs, sugar shakers, the cart, and so much more. But you’re also getting handsy with a lot of things in a healthcare setting, where sick people are more likely to be.

The problem with that is that there are fomites (aka objects that can have germs on them) everywhere in these situations. “A number of infectious viruses and bacteria can be spread by fomites,” Dr. Russo says. All this means is that if you touch an infected object and then touch your hands, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands, you can get sick.

“Many infectious organisms find their way into our bodies from our hands after they have touched surfaces or other people or animals,” says Amesh A. Adalja, MD, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “Handwashing is an easy way to decrease the level of contamination and diminish your chances of acquiring an infection.”

Washing your hands also inactivates these bugs. “It also literally washes them away,” adds William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. 

While hand sanitizer can be helpful when you’re on the go, Dr. Russo says it’s still *not* as effective as soap and water for all types of germs. “For noroviruses, hand sanitizer won't cut it,” he points out. (FYI, norovirus—which can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea—has a hard, protein-based shell called a capsid that shields it from alcohol-based hand sanitizers, Dr. Russo explains.) So your best bet is to always take a beat and clean your hands with the good ol' soap and water combo.

What about hand sanitizer?

Healthcare providers generally acknowledge that no one washes their hands the second they leave a healthcare setting, grocery store, or restaurant. Still, they say there’s a smart way to go about this: Use hand sanitizer as soon as you leave, and then wash your hands with soap and water as soon as you get home. 

“Many places have hand sanitizer stations when you come in and when you exit," Dr. Russo explains. "When you leave, you can grab a handful." If you can plan ahead, he also recommends carrying a bottle of sanitizer around in your bag or car.

If you’re on a road trip or are especially nervous about norovirus, Dr. Russo suggests packing a spare bottle of water and portable soap and using these supplies to wash your hands outside your car. “It’s an instant hand-washing station,” he says. 

But Dr. Schaffner says it’s always a good idea to wash your hands with soap and water when you come home, no matter where you’ve been. That’s actually a rule in his household. “It helps to keep the outside outside," he says. "Then, you’re much less likely to bring germs into your home from the outside.”

How much of a difference will it make in keeping you healthy?

Okay, you get it: Washing hands with soap and water is important. But does it make a big difference in your overall health? Yes, but there's more to the story.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that hand washing is one of the best ways to stay healthy, Dr. Adalja explains that it’s “hard to quantify” exactly how much healthier you’ll be if you level up your hand hygiene. 

However, Dr. Russo adds that this will “absolutely” lower the amount of times you get sick. “Hand hygiene is one of the most important measures of prevention of the spread of viruses and bacteria,” he says. While hand sanitizer can help you in a pinch, washing your hands is still the superior option. “When you can, soap and water is best,” Dr. Schaffner says. 

And if you're having a hard time reminding yourself to wash your hands every time you come home, try remembering this little acronym: FACES (which stands for food, animals, caregiving, exposure to bodily fluids, and special situations). So the next time you feed your fur baby, change your baby's diaper, or sneeze, keep FACES in mind and get to the closest sink near you.