Flu season is officially here. It’s time to stock up hand sanitizers, antibacterial soap and, of course, Kleenex.
If you or your kids ever questioned if maybe our modern obsession with hand washing wasn’t just all a little overboard, just ask Donna Gill Allen, a Health Occupation teacher at Cape Fear High school in Fayetteville, North Carolina. A shocking experiment Allen did with her students has gone viral.
“You let all the kids see you put a piece of bread in a baggy with a glove on, hence “controlled,” then you wash your hands and put a piece of bread in a baggy for “clean.” Last, but definitely not least, you pass a piece of bread around and let every kid in class touch it, then you put it in a baggy and label it dirty,” Allen said in a Facebook post.
Then you let the bags sit in a place where the kids can see the changes to the bread happen over time.
And the results? They speak for themselves.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154772846538199&set=a.10150915408138199.407053.681783198&type=3&theater
“My students are Certified Nursing Assistants when the graduate from my program. I teach them to take care of patients. Part of their education is to teach them to wash their hands. This experiment was perfect for teaching about germs,” she told Scary Mommy.
Washing your hands is one of the easiest ways of reducing the risk of transmitting diseases — and also one of the most important. Trying to prove that to people, especially kids, can be difficult because they usually can’t see any difference before and after they soap up.
But this gives them a way they can see that a few minutes at the washroom can make a huge difference in staying healthy during flu season — and any season.
Sick? Try this carrot, ginger soup recipe.
