By MARILYNN MARCHIONE

CHICAGO (AP) - The gender gap has widened when it comes to hygiene, according to the latest stakeout by the "hand washing police."

One-third of men didn't bother to wash after using the bathroom, compared with 12 per cent of women, said the researchers who spy on people in public restrooms. They reported their latest findings Monday at a meeting of infectious disease scientists.

Two years ago, the last time the survey was done, only one-quarter of men didn't wash, compared with 10 per cent of women.

"Guys need to step up to the sink," said Brian Sansoni, spokesman for the Soap and Detergent Association, which co-sponsors the survey and related education campaigns.

The latest study was based on observations last month of more than 6,000 people in four big cities.

Frequent hand washing is the single best thing people can do to avoid getting sick, from colds and the flu to germs lurking in food, doctors say. And a recent Harris Interactive survey found 92 per cent of Americans said they always wash up after using the bathroom.

But researchers for the American Society for Microbiology found that only 77 per cent actually do, when it comes to public restrooms. That's a six per cent decline from a similar study in 2005.

The dirty details:

-Atlanta's Turner Field baseball stadium again was the worst. Only 57 per cent of guys there washed up, compared to 95 per cent of women.

-New York was Second City to Chicago in cleanliness. In restrooms at the Windy City's Shedd Aquarium and Museum of Science and Industry, 81 per cent of men and women combined washed their hands, compared to 79 per cent at the Big Apple's Penn and Grand Central train stations.

-At San Francisco's Ferry Terminal Farmers Market, 62.5 per cent of men lathered up. Women did better, with 84 per cent.

Carry sanitizer gels and wipes in case the means to wash your hands aren't handy, suggested microbiologist Judy Daly of Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, who led the project.

"These are a marvellous addition to plain soap and water," she said.

Telephone surveys by the research firm Harris Interactive show little shift in attitudes over previous polls in 2003 and 2005. The latest was of 1,001 adults from Aug. 17-20.

Nearly three-fourths of Americans said they always wash up after changing a diaper, 78 per cent said they do so after handling or eating food; 42 per cent after petting a dog or cat, 25 per cent after handling money, and 34 per cent after coughing or sneezing.

http://ca.lifestyle.yahoo.com/health-fitness/articles/family-health/cp/home_family-_hand-washing_police_find_one-third_of_men_still_fail_to_wash_up_after_bathroom_use

I read that yesterday.


:puke: That is just gross and nasty. One main reason I carry those small bottles of hand sanitizer. I sure as hell don't want to touch the remnants of someone's pee on a door handle or anything else. :eek:

YECHHHHHHH I always wash my hands..and often the knobs of the washsinks, just to be sure! ( I wash my hands at least 15 times a day @_@ )

That's disgusting!!! Is it so hard to wash your hands? ohno:

That's so nasty. Just because you don't necessarily wipe, guys, wash your @!&*$# hands anyway. Ugh.

I know I'm shocked by this. :rolleyes: :lol:

I sure as hell don't want to touch the remnants of someone's pee on a door handle or anything else. :eek:

That is why I NEVER take mints on my way out of a restaraunt. On their way out, many people go to the bathroom, then take a mint. Nasty. puke:

YECHHHHHHH I always wash my hands..and often the knobs of the washsinks, just to be sure! ( I wash my hands at least 15 times a day @_@ )
As do I. I've had obsessive compulsive disorder since I was a little kid. I don't even touch doorknobs. They scare me. puke:

As do I. I've had obsessive compulsive disorder since I was a little kid. I don't even touch doorknobs. They scare me. puke:
Ummm, well, I'm not quite that bad, I do however wash my hands after things like blowing my nose ( most people dont (eww) ) or handling meat ( while preparing chicken i might wash my hands up to 5 times so that i can handle the other food im cooking, in between )....but, now you deffinately have me thinking second thoughts about those mints! :eek:

Ummm, well, I'm not quite that bad, I do however wash my hands after things like blowing my nose ( most people dont (eww) ) or handling meat ( while preparing chicken i might wash my hands up to 5 times so that i can handle the other food im cooking, in between )....but, now you deffinately have me thinking second thoughts about those mints! :eek:
Yeah, I remember hearing about those mints, years ago. I would hope one washes their hands after they blow their nose...And I can't even imagine touching anything on public transportation. There was this one time I actually saw a woman sneeze, then grab onto the railing of the bus. :eek:

EWW :barf:

Ummm, well, I'm not quite that bad, I do however wash my hands after things like blowing my nose ( most people dont (eww) ) or handling meat ( while preparing chicken i might wash my hands up to 5 times so that i can handle the other food im cooking, in between )....but, now you deffinately have me thinking second thoughts about those mints! :eek:
Oh my goodness...I was making hamburgers the other night, and I bet I washed my hands at least 10 times. I cannot stand the thought of having raw meat juices on my hands. Ick.

I also work with a first grade teacher who makes her students wash their hands if they sneeze. So someone is trying to promote good hygiene! Or is it hygeine? Anyway...

maybe sicko's should stop stalking people.

Yeah, I remember hearing about those mints, years ago. I would hope one washes their hands after they blow their nose...And I can't even imagine touching anything on public transportation. There was this one time I actually saw a woman sneeze, then grab onto the railing of the bus. :eek:
On Tuesday we took our son to the doctor. This one kid was coughing and hacking away while covering his mouth, which was good, HOWEVER, there he was playing with the toys in the waiting room, touching the door knob, etc. Oh God, I told my boyfriend to keep our son right outside and I would call them in when our son was called in. THEN, as soon as we went into the room, we all washed our hands and used hand sanitizer. I then grabbed some towels that were there to dry your hands with. So that when we left, I used those towels to grab the handle of the two door knobs that kid had touched. Ewwwwww.

maybe sicko's should stop stalking people.
What are you talking about?

What are you talking about?
Talking dumb. :rolleyes:

Thats nasty, i also carry those hand sanitizers around with me, you never know what you can catch. puke:

That's disgusting!!! Is it so hard to wash your hands? ohno:


Yes...Yes it is.

I mean, come on, you would actually have to get your hands wet. We can't have that, now can we? Soap too? Talk about the dark ages.

this is probably an accurate study. at my job, we lock the bathroom and you need to sign the key out. this is a new policy, i could fill a page with all the reasons why we lock it now. some of the reasons are just silly, like someone having a fetish for the cardboard centers in the middle of the paper towels and toilet paper. every day someone would steal the center cores from the paper. to this day, we have no idea why. anyway, we have a soap dispenser on the wall. one day it was empty and i decided that i wasnt going to fill it. i felt as though i was the only person who ever filled it, and i wanted to see how long it went without being filled. i hid a small bottle of soap under the sink and would use that while i watched to see if anyone filled up the main dispenser. after a week went by, i called out someone for not washing their hands. they denied it, but then i confronted him with the soap story. next thing i knew, the soap was filled, and has been since.

Ewwwwwww!! Sick :eek: :confused: I damn well know I wash my hands every time I come out of any bathroom!!!