The claim: Always wash your hands with hot water, not cold.
The facts: With H1N1 becoming a threat again, people are being reminded to wash their hands often to reduce the spread of the disease.
Soap and warm water have long been said to prevent the spread of infections, but is warm or hot water more effective than cold?
In its medical literature, the United States Food and Drug Administration states that hot water comfortable enough for washing hands is not hot enough to kill bacteria, but is more effective than cold water because it removes oils from the hand that can harbour bacteria.
However, in 2005 report in the Journal of Occupational And Environmental Medicine, scientists with the Joint Bank Group/Fund Health Services Department pointed out that the various temperatures had “no effect on transient or resident bacterial reduction”.
They drew this conclusion from studies in which subject who had their hands contaminated were instructed to wash and rinse with soap for 25 seconds.
They used water with temperatures ranging from 4 deg C to 50 deg C. The scientists found no evidence that hot water had any benefit and noted that it might increase the “irritant capacity” of some soaps, causing contact dermatitis.
“The temperature of water used for hand washing should not be guided by antibacterial effects but comfort which is in the tepid to warm temperature range,” they wrote. “The use of tepid water instead of hot water also has economic benefits.”
The bottom line: Hot water for hand washing has not been approved to remove germs better than cold water.
Source from The New York Times
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Does hot water clean better?
The facts: With H1N1 becoming a threat again, people are being reminded to wash their hands often to reduce the spread of the disease.
Soap and warm water have long been said to prevent the spread of infections, but is warm or hot water more effective than cold?
In its medical literature, the United States Food and Drug Administration states that hot water comfortable enough for washing hands is not hot enough to kill bacteria, but is more effective than cold water because it removes oils from the hand that can harbour bacteria.
However, in 2005 report in the Journal of Occupational And Environmental Medicine, scientists with the Joint Bank Group/Fund Health Services Department pointed out that the various temperatures had “no effect on transient or resident bacterial reduction”.
They drew this conclusion from studies in which subject who had their hands contaminated were instructed to wash and rinse with soap for 25 seconds.
They used water with temperatures ranging from 4 deg C to 50 deg C. The scientists found no evidence that hot water had any benefit and noted that it might increase the “irritant capacity” of some soaps, causing contact dermatitis.
“The temperature of water used for hand washing should not be guided by antibacterial effects but comfort which is in the tepid to warm temperature range,” they wrote. “The use of tepid water instead of hot water also has economic benefits.”
The bottom line: Hot water for hand washing has not been approved to remove germs better than cold water.
Source from The New York Times
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