What is dirty hands disease? Dirty hand disease What happens if you lick dirty hands

Hand washing is not just a habit, it is a way to protect yourself from many infectious diseases.

Nowadays, it is difficult to find a person who does not know that it is necessary to follow the rules of hygiene: brush your teeth, maintain order where you live and, of course, wash your hands. All this has become familiar to us, and we often don’t even think about what will happen if we don’t do this. But the habit of washing our hands is very important; it saves us from many dangerous diseases.

Why wash your hands?

Mandatory hand washing before eating and after using the toilet is not just a fad. This is a necessity designed to protect our body from many pathogens that accumulate on our hands.

Hands are our main tool, which we constantly use in everyday life. We handle a variety of objects: door handles, handrails, money, a computer mouse. But all these things are not sterile at all; thousands of pathogenic microorganisms have found refuge on them. By touching these contaminated things, we transfer some of the germs to our hands.

What diseases can be “caught” through unwashed hands?

Many infectious diseases can be contracted through washed hands. Among them:

hepatitis A
influenza and other acute respiratory viral infections
diseases caused by worms

The causative agents of these and many other diseases fall into our hands. Then we touch our faces with our hands, take food with unwashed hands, or bring unwashed hands to our mouth, and thereby open the door for infection to enter the body.

Of course, with a strong, operationally functioning immune system, such penetrations of enemy spies must be neutralized. But if the immune system is weakened, then we risk “getting” one of the diseases of dirty hands.

Intestinal infections

Very often they enter the body through dirty hands. Their frequency especially increases in summer, when air temperature promotes the activation of pathogenic microorganisms. Signs of intestinal infections - nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.

Intestinal infections can vary in aggressiveness and can lead to dangerous consequences: dehydration, a sharp increase in temperature, and can even pose a threat to life.

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Acute respiratory infections

In season colds Frequent hand washing is one of the main means to prevent pathogens from entering the body. This method is effective for both bacteria and viruses. Regular hand washing reduces the likelihood of contracting ARVI several times.

ARVI and the well-known representative of this class of diseases, influenza, are especially dangerous due to their complications, including pneumonia, otitis media, and meningitis.

Hepatitis A virus can also be contracted through contaminated hands. The mode of transmission of this disease is fecal-oral. Those. Unwashed hands after using the toilet or contaminated food allow infection to enter the body. Then the virus enters the liver with the blood and destroys its cells - hepatocytes.

This is a serious disease that disrupts liver function and requires long-term treatment. Hepatitis can be severe and lead to irreversible damage to the liver.

Worms

I stroked an animal in which worms live, and then forgot to wash my hands - this is a very common way for worms to enter the human body. The most common worms that enter us this way are pinworms and roundworms. They can cause us a lot of trouble in the form of nausea, weakness, and headaches. The larvae can enter the lungs, muscles, eyes and settle there. May develop intestinal obstruction, allergies will appear, as well as other dangerous manifestations of the appearance of “tenants” in the body.

A simple procedure saves us from all these dangerous diseases - washing our hands. You can avoid diseases of dirty hands by using a universal product - soap. This disinfectant removes up to 99% of viruses and bacteria settled there.

When to wash your hands?

Wash your hands after using the toilet.
Be sure to wash your hands before eating
Wash your hands when you get home
Wash your hands when you come to work

Hand washing technology

You should not wash your hands poorly, just for show, because such washing may not bring the desired effect and too many germs will remain on your hands. According to the technology, you need to thoroughly lather your hands with soap several times, and then rinse it off under running water. warm water. This is the only way we can remove pathogens from our hands.

Did you know, how to wash your hands correctly?

You need to wash your hands with soap for at least 30 seconds
Do not forget to lather the faucet handle with soap, because the maximum amount of bacteria accumulates on it
Rub the soap under your nails too
Remember, the more foam, the cleaner your hands will be.
Jewelry must be removed before washing hands

Psychological effects

It not only has a “disinfecting effect”, but also helps from a psychological point of view. Scientists have found that hand washing helps get rid of unpleasant memories and can relieve stress after making a big decision. This discovery can be used to relieve fatigue and relax a little. True, it’s probably not worth getting carried away with such “psychological” hand washing, otherwise there is a risk of turning into a paranoid person who will need to wash his hands every hour “to calm down.”

Wash your hands as often as necessary, this will help avoid a number of troubles and stay healthy!

Hand washing is not only a banal method of hygiene, but also the most important method of preventing various infections. What diseases can you get by simply forgetting to wash your hands? woman

Diseases of dirty hands are serious

Hand washing is not just a habit, it is a way to protect yourself from many infectious diseases that come more easily and most likely through dirty hands.

Why wash your hands?

Mandatory hand washing before eating and after using the toilet is not just a fad. This is a necessity designed to protect our body from many pathogens that accumulate on our hands.

What diseases can be caught through unwashed hands?

The following infectious diseases can be contracted through unwashed hands:

- cholera
- typhoid fever
- hepatitis A
- dysentery
- influenza and other acute respiratory viral infections
— salmonellosis
- diseases caused by worms

The causative agents of these and many other diseases fall into our hands. Then we touch our faces with our hands, take food with unwashed hands, or “drag” unwashed hands into our mouths, and thereby open the door for infection to enter the body.

Intestinal infections

Intestinal infections very often enter the body through dirty hands. Their frequency especially increases in summer, when air temperature promotes the activation of pathogenic microorganisms. Signs of intestinal infections are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
Intestinal infections can vary in aggressiveness and can lead to dangerous consequences: dehydration, a sharp increase in temperature, and can even pose a threat to life.

Acute respiratory infections

During the cold season, frequent hand washing is one of the main means to prevent pathogens from entering the body. This method is effective for both bacteria and viruses. Regular hand washing reduces the likelihood of contracting ARVI several times.

ARVI and the well-known representative of this class of diseases, influenza, are especially dangerous due to their complications, including pneumonia, otitis media, and meningitis.

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A virus can also be contracted through contaminated hands. The mode of transmission of this disease is fecal-oral. That is, unwashed hands after using the toilet or contaminated food allow infection to enter the body. Then the virus enters the liver with the blood and destroys its cells - hepatocytes.

This is a serious disease that disrupts liver function and requires long-term treatment. Hepatitis can be severe and lead to irreversible damage to the liver.

Worms

I stroked an animal in which worms live, and then forgot to wash my hands - this is a very common way for worms to enter the human body. The most common worms that enter us this way are pinworms and roundworms. They can cause us a lot of trouble in the form of nausea, weakness, and headaches. The larvae can enter the lungs, muscles, eyes and settle there. Intestinal obstruction may develop, allergies may appear, and other dangerous manifestations of the appearance of “tenants” in the body may occur.

When to wash your hands?

— Wash your hands after using the toilet.
- Be sure to wash your hands before eating
- Wash your hands when you get home
— Wash your hands when you come to work

Hand washing technology

You should not wash your hands poorly, just for show, because such washing may not bring the desired effect and too many germs will remain on your hands. According to the technology, you need to thoroughly lather your hands with soap several times, and then rinse it off under running warm water. This is the only way we can remove pathogens from our hands.

Psychological effects

Washing your hands not only has a “disinfecting effect,” but also helps from a psychological point of view. Scientists have found that hand washing helps get rid of unpleasant memories and can relieve stress after making a big decision. This discovery can be used to relieve fatigue and relax a little. True, it’s probably not worth getting carried away with such “psychological” hand washing, otherwise there is a risk of turning into a paranoid person who will need to wash his hands every hour “to calm down.”

11 months ago

Since childhood, we have heard from adults the requirement to observe the rules of personal hygiene. Of course, kids often perceive this as an annoying obstacle to their own activities. For example, I ran in from the street to quickly have lunch and continue playing, and there was my mother with the inexorable: “Wash your hands!” Yes, be more diligent, with soap!

And daily washing with brushing teeth, taking a shower or bath could poison any pleasure from the coming day. Not to mention regularly cleaning your room or cleaning your clothes and shoes.
Only with age do we understand why we need to instill self-care skills from childhood. After all, in addition to the sloppy appearance, there is another important factor: failure to comply with the rules of personal hygiene often causes the development of a number of diseases, including serious ones, with consequences and serious complications.

What are the consequences of not following personal hygiene rules?

Hand washing is a special tradition. They are washed before eating, after visiting the toilet or performing physical work. They are washed after using public transport and walking the streets. Why?
The hands are among the most exposed areas of our body. And taking into account the fact that the main part of the activity is carried out with the participation of the upper limbs, one can imagine how many harmful microorganisms accumulate on their surface.
Microorganisms can act as causative agents of diseases such as typhoid fever, salmonellosis, helminthiasis, various intestinal infections, hepatitis A, conjunctivitis, etc. If the rules of personal hygiene are violated, microorganisms that cause diseases can penetrate from the surface of the hands into the oral and nasal cavity, onto the mucous membrane of the eyeballs, into the bloodstream and contribute to the development of serious illnesses.
In addition to thoroughly washing the skin on your hands, you need to remember about your nails. Pathogenic bacteria are constantly hiding under the nail plates in large quantities.

Even if an external examination indicates cleanliness under the nails, this is a misleading impression. A certain number of pathogenic microorganisms without thorough treatment of the skin surface under long nails And inner surface the nail will still remain. For this reason, young children who are unable to maintain good hygiene regularly have their nails cut short.

Prevention of diseases of dirty hands

To prevent diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria in the environment, it is recommended, first of all, to observe the rules of personal hygiene, in particular, regularly wash your hands or, whenever possible, treat their surfaces with damp antibacterial wipes or special products with a similar effect. In this case, it is necessary to use soap or other detergent to improve the result.

We must not forget about the surfaces of products that you washed your hands before using. Fresh fruits and vegetables that have not been heat-treated before consumption must be washed under clean running water (preferably using a special brush).
Drinking water of insufficiently high quality purification can also provoke many intestinal infections, viral diseases and other diseases of dirty hands. You should not drink water from open sources or in places where water quality has not been tested. Even if local residents claim that “the water is straight from the spring,” and in general, “we drink everything here, and nothing happened.”
Often parents are faced with the fact that their children are infected with one or several diseases of dirty hands. Most often this happens while relaxing near a body of water (pond, river, sea, lake).

Adults are perplexed, they say, personal hygiene was observed, and unwashed fruits and vegetables were not consumed, and they drank only bottled water. It turns out that infection occurs due to swimming in polluted waters.

Pathogenic microorganisms enter the surface of the skin, mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, eyes, and genitals. In order to prevent diseases of dirty hands, you should be careful about resting places. Especially if you are planning a vacation with children!

Knowing how these diseases spread, parents will be able to protect their children from infection.

Pathogenic microbes, entering first on the skin of the hands and then directly into the mouth, cause characteristic intestinal symptoms: most often diarrhea (diarrhea).

These diseases include: intestinal infections, viral hepatitis A, helminthic infestations. The route of transmission of these infections is called fecal-oral, and it is realized through the following mechanisms:

nutritional – microbes enter the body with food;
water – when drinking and using poor quality water in everyday life;
contact-household – in case of violation of hygiene rules (germs enter the body due to unwashed hands and the use of common household items with a sick person).

Typically, pathogen transmission mechanisms are combined and interrelated.

Most often diseases of dirty hands arise in childhood, and there are quite objective reasons for this.

Firstly, babies have not yet developed stable hygiene skills. Children may forget to wash their hands after visiting the toilet and every time before eating, they put various objects in their mouths, taste wild berries, etc.

Secondly, protective functions child's body are in the process of formation. The immaturity of many systems makes them vulnerable to adverse environmental factors. For example, as a result of the weak production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and the relatively low activity of digestive enzymes, bacteria, viruses and helminth eggs easily penetrate from the stomach into the underlying parts of the digestive tract. Since the permeability of the intestinal mucosa in children is quite high, toxic products easily overcome the barrier of the epithelial cells lining the intestines from the inside and penetrate into the blood. Children's immune system intestines at an early age is characterized by a weak ability to produce protective antibodies that could destroy pathogenic microbes.

It should be noted that the peak incidence of these infections occurs in the warm season (summer, early autumn), since in conditions high temperature air, not only the microbes themselves multiply, but also their carriers, primarily various insects. In addition, in the summer children spend significantly more time on fresh air where they come into contact with sand, soil, and animals. And finally, during the season of fruits, berries and vegetables, their consumption increases significantly - alas, not always in a well-processed and washed form.

Acute intestinal infections in a child

These diseases are provoked by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. The cause of the disease can be not only the bacteria themselves, but also their toxins, which are formed as a result of the vital activity of microbes. In this case, the disease is called foodborne illness (poisoning).

Main manifestations intestinal infections are vomiting, diarrhea, increased body temperature (this does not always happen), abdominal pain. Weakness, lethargy, loss of appetite may occur, and in some cases a rash appears on the baby’s body. The most serious complication of intestinal infections is dehydration of the child's body due to loss of fluid and electrolytes.

The nature of diarrhea with intestinal infections can be different. Watery diarrhea can be caused by cholera, salmonellosis, etc. It is characterized by damage to the transport system of water and electrolytes in the intestinal wall, as a result of which the liquid is not only not absorbed into the blood, but, on the contrary, is released into the intestinal lumen. This type of diarrhea is characterized by frequent, profuse, watery stools, often greenish in color.

With “bloody” diarrhea, pathogens penetrate the intestinal mucosa and destroy the cells lining it. In this case, there is a frequent and painful urge to defecate: stool, as a rule, is in a small volume and contains mucus and blood. This happens with dysentery, salmonellosis, etc.

The diagnosis of intestinal infection is established based on detailed questioning of parents sick child, examination of the child by a doctor and the results of examinations, which necessarily include bacteriological and?/?or virological examination of stool, which is necessary to identify the pathogen and determine the degree of its sensitivity to drugs - in particular, to antibiotics, if the disease is caused by bacteria.

Treatment intestinal infections carried out at home or in a hospital setting, depending on the severity of the disease and the initial level of health of the baby, and includes the following types:

Etiotropic therapy is aimed at destroying the causative agent of the disease. Involves the prescription of antibacterial, antiviral or antiprotozoal drugs, if possible selected in accordance with the sensitivity of the microorganism isolated during the examination.
Pathogenetic treatment affects the mechanisms of disease development and includes the administration of sorbents (drugs that remove microbes and their toxins from the body), enzymes (helping to digest incoming food), pre- and probiotics (agents that activate beneficial intestinal microflora, which fights harmful microbes). An important part of pathogenetic treatment is the prescription of glucose-salt solutions (in the form of a drink or dropper), which help replenish fluid loss in the body and prevent dehydration of the baby.
Symptomatic treatment involves eliminating individual symptoms of the disease. For example, an increase in body temperature of more than 38.5°C is the basis for prescribing antipyretics (for children early age drugs based on PARACETAMOL are used).

Child health: viral hepatitis A

This infection, which is based on viral liver damage. The disease, which occurs in childhood, usually does not cause severe consequences and does not become chronic. Virus infection hepatitis A occurs when hygiene rules are violated or contaminated food or water is consumed.

Most cases of the disease begin with symptoms reminiscent of ARVI: weakness, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and increased body temperature. A characteristic feature is the darkening of urine (the color of dark beer), which is explained by the destruction of liver cells by the virus and the massive entry into the blood, and from there into the urine of the coloring pigment bilirubin, an increase in the level of which in the blood causes coloring yellowish color first the sclera (whites of the eyes), and then the skin.

Normally, bilirubin enters the intestines along with bile, providing the characteristic brown color of the stool. With viral hepatitis A, due to the absorption of bilirubin into the blood, its content in bile sharply decreases, which causes the appearance of another classic sign of jaundice - discoloration of stool, which becomes white-gray. However, it should be noted that viral hepatitis A often occurs without the development of jaundice, which is especially typical for children under 5 years of age.

Diagnosis viral hepatitis A established after a thorough interview with the baby’s parents and examination of the baby, as well as on the basis of examination data. The first group of tests (the study of biochemical blood parameters) helps to assess the degree of damage to liver cells by the virus. The second group of tests is aimed at confirming the viral nature of the disease. For this purpose, the content of specific antibodies to the hepatitis A virus in the blood is examined.

Treatment of viral hepatitis A usually carried out in the infectious diseases department of a children's hospital under the supervision of tests. Since severe forms of viral hepatitis A in childhood are extremely rare, therapy comes down to following a gentle diet (excluding spicy, smoked foods, fried and fatty foods) and detoxification, which consists of intravenous drip administration of GLUCOSE and saline solutions, which is necessary for elimination from body of toxic metabolic products.

Worms in a child

Infection of a child roundworms, the eggs of which mature in the soil, occur through the fecal-oral route (through the mouth) through direct contact with the ground, sand (at the dacha, in the sandbox), through contaminated objects (toys, clothes, shoes), through food (berries, vegetables, fruits), through insects (flies, cockroaches, ants), through contact with animals (dogs, cats).

Infection with worm eggs is more likely from 6–7 months, when the baby begins to sit and then crawl. Having animals at home that are walked outside increases the likelihood of helminth infection, since pets bring worm eggs into the house on their paws and fur.

Most often when helminthic infestation Gastrointestinal tract dysfunction occurs. Children may have: unstable stool (both constipation and diarrhea), abdominal pain (from “flying” pain without a specific localization, passing in a few minutes, to persistent and recurring pain), bloating, belching, nausea, rapid satiety during meals, etc.

Manifestations of intoxication due to helminthiasis are: loss of appetite, disturbance of night sleep (restlessness, making sounds in sleep or frequent awakenings), grinding teeth, irritability, moodiness, aggressiveness. In addition, when infected with roundworms, especially with enterobiasis and ascariasis, redness and irritation occur in the anus, perineum and external genitalia. Girls often experience infections of the external genitalia, in particular, recurrent vulvovaginitis (inflammation of the external genitalia and vagina).

Prevention of diseases of dirty hands

Because the main reason The development of these diseases is the neglect of the rules of hygiene in everyday life; the decisive factor in prevention is aspects of raising a child aimed at developing sustainable hygienic skills. Personal example and consistent observance of sanitary rules by adult family members become a necessary basis for the formation of useful stereotypes of child behavior. The requirements are:

Wash your hands with soap after visiting the toilet, after any contact with animals, with soil and sand, and upon returning home from the street.
Wash your hands with soap before every meal (even if it's a small snack).
Thoroughly wash fruits, vegetables and herbs before eating. Berries (including strawberries, raspberries) are processed in 2 stages: first, they are filled with clean, cool water, then the water is drained, and the berries themselves are washed again under running water.
Using good-quality water for washing dishes, cooking, drinking and bathing a child, which is especially important during the summer holidays, when residents of megacities go to their dachas, camp sites, etc.
Maintaining cleanliness in the room where the child is. Regular cleaning of toys with soapy water or special detergents at least once a week.
If you have pets, do not allow them to come into contact with food and utensils, and exclude the possibility for them to climb onto kitchen work surfaces, dining tables, cribs and strollers. It is very important to keep animals clean, wash them after returning from the street, and regularly conduct preventive courses of anthelmintic treatment.