Hand Sanitizer Reduces Young Children's Day of Illness According to One Study

Young children inevitably have a lot of runny nose and sore throats, but the way they wash their hands could reduce the frequency of child care absences, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Spanish researchers have found that children who wash their hands with a disinfectant rather than soap and water reduce missed school days, respiratory infections and antibiotic prescriptions.

The researchers studied 911 children under 3 attending 24 crèches in Almería, Spain. They divided the children, their families, and their daycares into three groups: one group used a hand sanitizer to wash their hands and another used soap and water, both of which had strict protocols for hand washing. hygiene matter. A third group, the control group, followed their usual handwashing procedures.

All three groups participated in hand hygiene workshops prior to the start of the study. But the groups of hand sanitizer and soap and water participated in follow-up sessions on respiratory infections and fevers and received hand hygiene documentation. They received hygiene protocols, including washing their hands before and after lunch, on their arrival at home and after coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose, the study said.

During the eight-month study period, the 911 students had 5,211 respiratory infections, resulting in 5,186 days of missed care. The group of hand sanitizers missed 3.25% of day care days, followed by the soap and water group, which missed 3.9% of days. The group following their usual handwashing routine missed 4.2% of the days.

The authors also found that the soapy water group was 21% more likely to get a respiratory infection – runny nose, congestion, cough and sore throat, for example – and 31% more likely to be prescribed antibiotics than those using hand sanitizer.

There was a 23% reduction in respiratory infections in students using a hand sanitizer compared to those in the control group.

"I think the main contribution of this document concerns very young children on child care," said Dr. Don Goldmann, physician and chief scientist emeritus at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement. "I think this is based on previous literature to support the idea that you can reduce the spread of respiratory tract infections in very young children if you use a hand sanitizer based on 39; alcohol ".

Goldmann, who did not participate in the new research, said the study lacked details on the measures taken to implement the program, both in day care and at home.

"If you were in the Bronx in New York and wanted to implement this program, you would probably need to contact the investigators to understand the details of what they did and how they did it. "said Goldmann, also part-time. professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Janet Haas, director of epidemiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, said the different techniques used by participants were important. Haas, president of the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, did not participate in the study.

"Handwashing, a way to prevent infections, is no longer a news, of course," she said. "We know a lot about how it works. We pay more attention to the fact that it's not just about washing your hands, but about how you wash your hands. "

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest washing your hands for at least 20 seconds when you wash your skin – "Hum the song" Happy Birthday "from start to finish twice," he says after being wet hands with running water and applied soap. He suggests lathering the backs of the hands, between the fingers and under the nails. A person should wash their hands before eating food and after blowing, coughing or sneezing, he said.

For the hand sanitizer, the CDC suggests applying the product to one hand and rubbing it on the surfaces of the hands and fingers until it is dry. The CDC notes that "hand sanitizers are not as effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy".

"There is a place for alcohol-based hand sanitizers and the public may not know how effective they can be," said Haas. "I think people always think they're" if you can not go to a sink, it's the second best solution, "but in this study it showed that it was better than washing your hands with soapy water and water. "

Although the research was conducted in Spain, Haas believes the results are applicable in other parts of the world, with most developed countries facing the same problems of spreading germs.

However, regardless of the benefits of the hand sanitizer, Haas and Goldmann emphasized that safety must be taken into account when using it with children as young.

"They have to be used with supervision," said Haas, "because the caveat here is that you can not have young children who put this in their mouths and who are at risk of becoming intoxicated with alcohol. "