4 greater hand washing errors that could increase germs and viruses

Proper hand washing could save one million lives a year, according to an expert, and many people do so inappropriately, often due to the wrong ideas that surround the practice.

Doctors recommend washing -Sap and water for at least 20 seconds to reduce the spread of infectious diseases.

The NFID 2025 hand washing report, recently published by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, provides details on North -Americans’ habits (and errors).

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The report is based on a survey of 3,587 North -Americans, made in November 2024 and March 2025.

Robert Hopkins Jr., MD, medical director of NFID in Maryland, spoke with Fox News Digital about what North -Americans do wrong when it comes to hand washing.

1. Only using hand disinfector

“We must admit that there are several important infections that hand disinfectors are not effective to prevent,” Hopkins said.

An example is Norovirus, a highly contagious stomach virus that is common in cruise ships and is also distributed seasonally.

The virus cannot be killed with hand disinfectant, but it is “easily destroyed” with soap and water, according to Hopkins.

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Some viruses are “encapsulated” and can be destroyed with soap and waterproof soap and water or hand, the expert said. However, there is also a type of “non -encapsulated” virus, which has an outside coat that does not break down from alcohol into the hand disinfectant.

The use of soap and water is a more effective way to kill germs, the doctor said.

2. Just cough on the sleeve

When people cough or sneezed on their sleeves could still spread germs later.

“If you play on your sleeve … go ahead and wash -your hands with soap and water,” Hopkins advised.

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“We must also admit that we often approach our hands on our face, touch our nose, glasses, other parts of our face,” said the doctor, based in Arkansas.

“If we have bacteria or viruses in our hands, we can introduce them to our mucous membranes, where we can obtain infections.”

3. Wash hands more in certain seasons

The NFID report stated that one in four respondents was more often washed in the fall and winter, when cold and flu predominate.

“The seasonal variance is understandable, as some respiratory diseases, including the flu and the syncitial respiratory virus (RSV), tend to reach the maximum during autumn and winter,” the report said.

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“However, other germs, such as those that cause colds, Norovirus and other infectious diseases, can be extended throughout the year. It is important to maintain proper hand hygiene throughout the year to help keep it.”

4. Do not wash hands in critical moments

Most adults are washed hands after using the bathroom (69%), manipulating food (48%) and handling human or animal waste (39%), according to NFID report.

“We need to strengthen the importance of this simple tool.”

Only 30% of respondents, however, reported that their hands were likely to be washed after sneezing or coughing.

Almost half the respondents admitted to forget or choose not to wash their hands at key moments, as after visiting a grocery store, restaurant, office, pharmacy, clinic or hospital.

“We need to strengthen the importance of this simple tool,” Hopkins said about hand washing.

“I think most public health campaigns around hands hygiene have focused on health environments,” he added.

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As for hand washing as a practice in general, Hopkins emphasized: “We must put it back in folding.”

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“If everyone washed their hands more coherent, we could probably save some one million lives a year.”