HYDERABAD: May 5 is recognised as World Hand Hygiene Day by World Health Organisation.In an interview, Dr Ravuri Niranjan,CEO, CareMotto said that during the ancient period when doctors conducted deliveries, childbirth used to have almost 70 % mortality.
Dr Ignaz Semmelweis, who was a keen observer found that doctors are moving from patient to patient without washing their hands and so he made hand washing mandatory for all the doctors.
This act drastically brought down the death rate of mothers during deliveries.
These are some of the facts-
1.Washing hands with running warm or cold- water at least for 20 seconds could prevent 50 percent of diarrheal diseases and at least 50 lakh deaths across the world.
2. It is observed that more than 40% of the people do not wash their hands after sneezing or coughing thereby spreading germs when they shake hands or touch any surfaces.
3. People with contact lens are at risk of trachoma and acanthamoeba which again spreads through poor hand hygiene.It can lead to blindness if not treated on time.
4.Washing hands followed by disinfecting by using hand sanitisers can reduce the contact of germs and fungi.
5.Statistics reveal in India 1 in 10 don’t wash their hands after visiting washroom and of those that do only 30 percent use soap.