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| | [[Image:SchoolchildrenWashingHands.jpg|right|thumb|Schoolchildren washing their hands before eating lunch.]] | | [[Image:SchoolchildrenWashingHands.jpg|right|thumb|Schoolchildren washing their hands before eating lunch.]] |
| | '''Hand washing''' is the act of [[cleaning|cleansing]] the [[hand]]s with [[water]] or other [[liquid]], with or without the use of [[soap]] or other [[detergent]]s, for the purpose of removing [[soil]] or [[microorganism]]s. | | '''Hand washing''' is the act of [[cleaning|cleansing]] the [[hand]]s with [[water]] or other [[liquid]], with or without the use of [[soap]] or other [[detergent]]s, for the purpose of removing [[soil]] or [[microorganism]]s. |
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| − | ==Purpose==
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| − | The main purpose of washing hands is to cleanse the hands of [[pathogen]]s (including [[bacterium|bacteria]] or [[virus]]es) and chemicals which can cause disease. This is especially important for people who handle food or work in the medical field.
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| − | ==Hand washing as compensation==
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| − | Excessive hand washing is commonly seen as a symptom of [[obsessive-compulsive disorder]] (OCD).
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| − | It has also been found that people, after having recalled or contemplated unethical acts, tend to wash hands more often than others, and tend to value hand washing equipment more. Furthermore, those who are allowed to wash their hands after such a contemplation are less likely to engage in other "cleansing" compensatory actions, such as volunteering.<ref>Benedict Carey. Lady Macbeth Not Alone in Her Quest for Spotlessness. ''[[The New York Times]]'', 12 September 2006</ref><ref>Chen-Bo Zhong and Katie Liljenquist. [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/313/5792/1451?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Liljenquist&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT Washing Away Your Sins: Threatened Morality and Physical Cleansing]. ''[[Science (journal)|Science]], 8 September 2006:
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| − | Vol. 313. no. 5792, pp. 1451 - 1452</ref>
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| − | ==Symbolic hand washing==
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| − | {{main|ablution}}
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| − | *[[Ablution]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]]
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| − | *[[Ablution in Judaism]]
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| − | *[[Wudu]] in [[Islam]]
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| − | *[[Ablution]] in the [[Bahá'í Faith]]
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| − | *[[Ablution]] in [[Hinduism]]
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| − | *[[Misogi]] in [[Shintoism]]
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| − | ==Idioms==
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| − | When someone "washes their hands of" something, this means that they are declaring their unwillingness to take responsibility for it or share complicity in it. [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 27:24 gives an account of [[Pontius Pilate]] washing his hands of the decision to crucify [[Jesus]]: "When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it."
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| − | ==See also==
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| − | * [[Escherichia coli O157:H7|E. coli O157:H7]]
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| − | * [[Antibiotic resistance]]
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| − | * [[Ignaz Semmelweis]]
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| − | * [[Soap dispenser]]
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| − | ==References==
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| − | <references/>
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | * [http://www.tufts.edu/med/apua/Patients/handwashing.html Alliance for Prudent Use of Antibiotics on hand washing]
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| − | * [http://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/ Centers for Disease Control on hand hygiene in healthcare settings]
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| − | * [http://www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca/Communicable/Handwashing/ Hand Washing Video - Grey Bruce Health Unit, Canada ]
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| − | * [http://www.arrowscientific.com.au/educational-material/handwashing---dos--donts.html Hand washing - Do's and Dont's]
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| − | [[Category:Hygiene]]
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| − | [[Category:Medical hygiene]]
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| − | [[de:Händedesinfektion]]
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| − | [[fr:Lavage des mains]]
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| − | [[simple:Hand washing]]
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