Survey reveals, hands down, that teens don’t know how to wash properly

A survey of teenagers has confirmed what every parent suspected — they haven’t a clue how to wash themselves.

The survey of 100 students in the West put the 16-year-old boys and girls through a simple hand-washing test. Every one of them failed.

The transition-year students at Presentation College Athenry all thought they knew how to wash their hands properly but, an inspection afterwards under a UV light confirmed the 100% failure rate.

The survey was carried out by Neylon Maintenance Services, which is currently providing hygiene services to hospitals and industry across the country.

It was part of a Cleanpass programme on hand hygiene and infection control designed by the company to instil proper cleaning practices in students before they entered the workplace.

Almost three-quarters of the students admitted to not washing their hands before eating lunch and two-thirds said they didn’t clean their hands after PE or sports activities.

Over half of the students didn’t wash their hands after coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose, while 86% didn’t wash their hands after handling money.

Following the three-day, full-time, certified programme, three-quarters of the students said their hand washing habits had changed, with 73% washing more often than before.

“Not enough can be said about the importance of cleanliness, proper handwashing and infection control,” said Gerry Doherty, principal of Presentation College, Athenry.

“We were delighted to have this opportunity for our students to partake in this course. It is one of the most important programmes they have been involved in this year,” Mr Doherty added.

Similar hygiene training should now be on the agenda for every transition-year student in the country, according to Neylon Maintenance Service managing director Sylvester Neylon.

“The importance of hand hygiene in preventing disease is universally accepted and we believe early training in hand hygiene is the most effective way to see big changes.

“We are currently involved in providing hygiene services in hospital environments and we recognise the need to have people educated from a young age in infection control, hand hygiene, chemical handling and health and safety,” Mr Neylon added.