Please, Wash Your Hands! We have a huge in issue in this world today and I don t think it gets addressed as

Transcription

1 Britney Boykin Persuasive Speech Please, Wash Your Hands! We have a huge in issue in this world today and I don t think it gets addressed as much as it should. Since we were little bitty we have been taught about this issue and given many lessons on it. Songs have been written on it and it is one of our first life lesson taught to us. Every human being does it on a regular basis and some more than others. It only takes a little bit of your time and effort to change this problem. What is this you may ask? Washing your hands. Wash your hands!" How many times have you heard that from your parents? How many times do you say that to your children, it may sound like nagging but actually it is the most important thing you can do to keep from getting sick is to wash your hands. Hand washing is an important part of everyday life. Not only does it make our hands look clean, but it washes away germs and bacteria, helping to prevent the spread of illness. The US Centers for Disease Control says proper and frequent hand washing is the single most important means of preventing the spread of infection. But, researchers in a study for the American Society for Microbiology found when it comes to public restrooms, only 77% of people wash their hands after using the restroom. And if you re a guy, one-third of the men spied on didn t bother to lather up, compared to only 12% of women. Some studies show there are, on average, 200,000 germs per square inch on faucet handles that see frequent use, and about 1,500 on a square centimeter of a person s hand. The easiest ways for germs to get into your body is through your eyes, mouth and nose; the average person touches these areas with their hand about 200 times per day.

2 Nothing disgusts me more than being in a public restroom and seeing a person walk out of a stall straight out the door. I am very surprised how many grown adults do this. Where exactly do these people go when they leave the restroom? What do these people touch? They touch the door knob to the bathroom, the handles on the shopping carts, everything these people touch and you touch too, you get their germs. Researchers at the University of Arizona, say shopping carts and reusable grocery bags are swarming with fecal matter and bacteria, often more than a typical bathroom. The Associated Press and USA Today report Professor Charles Gerba swabbed the handles of eighty-five carts in four states for bacterial contamination. Gerba found 72% of the carts had a positive marker for fecal bacteria and half had E. coli. He also found reusable shopping bags that are not washed on a regular basis are also swarming with bacteria. So you think to yourself well I will just not use the restroom in public, I will wait till I get home. My home is much cleaner, really is it! How often do you wipe down your toilet handles, light switches, faucets, toilet seats or what you touch with your unwashed hands on a regular basis. It is probably fair to say though that, most bathrooms would not pass a hygiene test. Where you place items in your bathroom is very important. Give some thought about where you are going to place toothbrushes, sponges, and towels. Always close the toilet lid before you flush. Did you know that, as you flush, your toilet can spray a fine mist of fecal matter for quite a distance. If you have your toothbrushes placed within six feet of the toilet bowl, there is a fair chance that they will be covered with this fecal matter. So, instead of cleaning your teeth you could actually be brushing them with a

3 mixture of toothpaste and poo. So disgusting right! Now lets me tell you about your work desk! Once again a study was done by Charles Gerba from the University of Arizona about which office-based jobs host the most bacteria. Teachers were number one on the list, going down from there was an Accountant, Banker, Radio DJ, Doctor, Television producer, Consultant, Publicist and a Lawyer. Average bacteria per square inch of workspace surfaces ranged from 18,000 for teachers to 900 for lawyers, according to the report. The study talked about the four spots Bacteria lurk. Telephones are the workplace s top spots for bacteria, next are desks, computers keyboards and computer mouse. Many people eat at their desk, this is a bacteria magnet. Telephones are the workplace's top spots for bacteria, according to Gerba's team. Many office workers eat at their desks, munching on lunch or snacking as they continue on with their work. That habit may be convenient, but it can be a bacteria magnet. Results from previous research from "Germs in the Workplace" found that when disinfecting wipes are used as directed, up to 99.9 percent of germs are eliminated. Now ladies let me talk to you about something we all love. Our purses. Purses are practically a body part they are with us all the time. We place our purses on the floor at a restaurant, on the gym floor, on a floor in a bathroom stall our purses are set in the dirties or dirty place daily. But instead of sanitizing or washing them we simply pick them up and go on with our lives spreading the germs in our cars, our homes and on the tables we eat on.

4 How often do you make sure your purse is cleaned? I asked 20 women how often they cleaned their purse 18 of those women said never, 2 said they wipe it down on a regular basis or put it in the washing machine. I asked 20 women how often they put their purse on the ground, 19 of those women said at least once a day, one women said never that she is very aware of where her purse is placed. Charles Gerba tested samples from hundreds of purse bottoms and they found some level of bacteria on every single bag about a quarter had bacteria counts in the tens of thousands. In one sampling, four out of five purses tested positive for salmonella. There are a few things you can do to keep your purse free of sickness-inducing bacteria. Obviously, avoid putting it on the floor anywhere. In a restaurant, grab an extra chair to use as a bag rest. In the bathroom, hang it around your neck if there s no hook in the bathroom stall (it feels ridiculous, but it s so worth avoiding the alternative) and throw it in a locker at the gym instead of carrying it around. Many people do not know how to wash their hands properly, the best way is to wet your hands with running water, apply soap, lather well, rub your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds, sing Happy Birthday to yourself. Remember to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails. Rinse well. Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel or air dryer. If possible, use your towel to turn off the faucet. Keep in mind that antibacterial soap is no more effective at killing germs than is regular soap. Using antibacterial soap may even lead to the development of bacteria that are resistant to the product's antimicrobial agents, making it harder to kill these germs in the future.

5 In conclusion, I am not trying to gross you all out, I simply trying to make a strong point that we all need to wash our hands. By frequently washing your hands the right way, you'll wash away germs, bacteria and viruses, that you have picked up throughout the day. So next time do not think twice about washing your hands, I encourage you all to wash your hands many times throughout the day!