Diseases That Come with Hands

Diseases That Come with Hands

Apart from the "brain," the "hand" is considered an organ that elevates humans above other living beings on this planet. Humans use their brains to invent various things while using their hands to create and perform tasks that other animals cannot. We use our hands to touch various objects, from the moment we wake up in the morning, washing our face, brushing our teeth, taking a shower, touching others, and even picking up food to eat, scratching our nose, and rubbing our eyes. As a result, hands can also introduce disease-causing pathogens into our bodies. If someone is infected, these hands can spread the infection to others through direct contact or even indirect contact via an intermediary. Commonly overlooked intermediaries include doorknobs, bus handrails, and escalator handrails.

Pathogens on Hands

There are generally two types of small living organisms found on people's hands: those that are normally present, which can include up to dozens of different types, even if the hands appear clean and unsoiled, and those that are transient, acquired through contact and loosely attached to the skin, easily washed off. The first group generally does not cause disease unless these pathogens are introduced into the bloodstream or internal organs, such as during medical procedures, when inserting an intravenous saline line directly into a blood vessel, which may be contaminated with skin-borne pathogens and lead to bloodstream infections. The latter group may include pathogens that cause various communicable diseases, some of which can be life-threatening.

Infections Spread Through Hands

Many infectious diseases can be transmitted through contact. Some examples of common diseases include:

1. Respiratory infections, such as colds, tuberculosis, influenza, measles, and German measles. In addition to being transmitted through breathing in pathogens, hands can also come into contact with objects or appliances shared with others, or public facilities such as doorknobs, bus handrails, or escalator rails. Then, when touching the nose, pathogens enter the nasal cavity and can cause disease when inhaled.
2. Gastrointestinal infections, such as diarrhea, hepatitis A, cholera, dysentery, and various parasitic diseases, can be transmitted when contaminated hands touch food that is then consumed.
3. Direct contact infections, such as conjunctivitis, fungal infections, skin abscesses, warts, and impetigo.
4. Multimodal infections, such as chickenpox, can be transmitted through both breathing and contact.

These infectious diseases are common and sometimes can lead to severe complications.

Treatment guidelines

A simple, low-cost, and highly effective method to control and prevent hand-transmitted infections is "handwashing." Medical research dating back more than 150 years has found that handwashing by healthcare workers can reduce the rate of infections in hospitals by 2.4 and 5 times. In addition, frequent handwashing in patients with conjunctivitis (red eye) can prevent the spread of the disease. Handwashing by food handlers also prevents the spread of foodborne infections. However, the problem is that the general public often overlooks and disregards this practice, because the pathogens mentioned above are tiny, invisible to the naked eye. In addition to not touching the nose and eyes frequently, regular handwashing is of utmost importance.

Proper Handwashing Technique

Proper handwashing must clean the entire hand, following these 6 steps:

1. Rub the palms together.
2. Rub the back of each hand with the opposite palm.
3. Interlace fingers and rub palms together.
4. Rub the back of fingers with the opposite palm, alternating both hands.
5. Clean both thumbs by rubbing them with the opposite palm.
6. Rub the fingertips against the opposite palm, alternating both hands. This entire process should take approximately 15-30 seconds (at least 10 seconds). Additionally, hands should be washed under running water from a faucet and dried with a clean cloth or paper towel, or dried using an air dryer after washing.

Handwashing does not necessarily require the use of an antimicrobial agent; soap and clean water used in the proper manner can significantly reduce the risk of infection.

When Should We Wash Our Hands?

Hands should be washed in various situations, such as: after completing activities that dirty the hands, e.g., working, lifting objects, gardening, sweeping, or cleaning the bathroom; before preparing or eating food; before washing the face, brushing teeth, or using the toilet; before touching the nose, mouth, or eyes; before and after coming into contact with a patient (including when you are the patient), especially after blowing the nose, coughing, or sneezing; before interacting with children, and after returning home from work.

Frequent handwashing should become a habit, as touching the eyes, nose, and mouth, or handling food can transfer pathogens on the hands into the body. Furthermore, caring for children, hugging, or feeding them can also transmit diseases to them.

Promote Handwashing

Although many infectious diseases can spread easily through contact, handwashing is a simple way to prevent their transmission. However, the general public may overlook this practice and neglect their responsibilities. The continuous spread of contagious diseases, such as conjunctivitis, highlights the importance of promoting handwashing. This campaign should start at the individual and family levels. Adults washing their hands as an example for children can instill good habits in the younger generation, which will benefit the nation in the future.

Although educating the public can increase awareness about health responsibilities, maintaining proper health behaviors and practices requires serious and ongoing collective effort.

"Isn't it time to invest a little of your valuable time to wash your hands thoroughly for your own health, the health of your children, and the well-being of the community at large?"

Reference

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6. Horton JC. Disorders of the eye. In Braunwald E, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Longo DL, Jameson JL (eds). Harrison's Principles of Medicine. New York: McGraw Hill; 2001:164-178.

7. Begue RE, Gastanaduy AS. Clinical Microbiology : Acute Gastroenteritis Viruses. In Armstrong D, Cohen J (eds). Infectious Diseases. London: Harcourt Publishers; 1999:8.1.1-8.1.10.

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Best wishes from Vibhavadi Hospital

Source: Thaiclinic.com