Viewpoint by Cody Daniels/reporter

Washing one’s hands after using the restroom is more important than most might realize.

According to a study done by the World Health Organization, 95 percent of people wash their hands improperly, meaning they do not wash their hands long enough in the correct manner to kill bacteria and germs that cause infection. The average person touches their face over 500 times a day, making it easy for disease to spread.

In a Michigan State University study observing 3,700 students, 33 percent did not use soap at all, 12 percent skipped washing their hands entirely and 45 percent of the rest only washed their hands for six seconds or less. The WHO recommends washing for at least 30 seconds.

Stepping foot into a restroom is more than enough of a reason to wash your hands extensively.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, washing hands at least five times a day can be life-saving. Students don’t normally think about it, but they often sit at different desks every day not knowing how many people sat there before.

The University of Michigan reports people touch more than 50 surfaces daily, constantly interacting between one surface and the next, all the while touching their faces. Once people are infected, it is easy to assume they will touch a surface that someone else will touch later before touching their own face. With about 50,000 students, this process occurs thousands of times per day at any given campus increasing the importance of TCC students washing their hands.

Cold and flu season is just around the corner. With Texas infection numbers increasing steadily since 2009, getting flu shots and washing hands to prevent spreading are even more important.

Hand sanitizer bins are mounted all over TCC campuses on walls and near offices for a reason. Students are also warned to wash for 30 seconds and spread soap under the fingernails as well while doing so.