Two small things. One, I live in Long Beach California, two, I am a dad. Other than that it sounds about right. The hard part is reminding them to take the tubes of sanitizer or remembering where they put them. The schools try hard, but with budget cuts, things slip through the cracks. We all have to take our own safety in our hands. If someone does something unsanitary, call them on it. Your doctor should wash their hands just before they touch you, not in the other room. Watch for people wiping their noses then handing something to you. It does not have to be the swine flu, a regular cold is still a drag.

That is pretty yucky about the soap thing. I do realize that even with soap being provided, the chances of middle and elementary kids washing their hands before eating or after using the restroom is probably only about 50%.

One thing that I have issues with your advice with the hand santizers are that most illnesses are due to viruses and not bacterial infections. So they are pretty much over kill. One of the reasons that we have strains of antibiotic resistant bacterias is because of all these antibacterial products being used all the time. Even when no one is sick not to mention not sick with a bacterial infection. In the long run, it is hurting us because the bacteria mutate to a strain that is resistant to a common antibiotic.

The other big contributor is over prescribing antibiotics. I think the doctors have realized this and have stopped prescribing them at the drop of a hat. But they still have parents and patients wanting an antibiotic when they have the common cold.

The truth is we should just be washing our hands in with normal soap and water and using a clean towel or paper towel to dry them. Not all these hand santizers. But if anyone knows of a brand that is not antibacterial, I am all for it.

America is in the dark ages when it comes to public health and sanitation. Handwashing is sporadic everywhere: in the workplace, hospitals, restaurants, not just in schools. People still cough into their hands, and then think nothing of shaking hands. People with obviously filthy hands (e.g. cashiers who handle bills continuously) think nothing of licking their fingers or touching their eyes. And people repelled by all this behavior earn the label "germ-phobic" (that we have such a commonly used word says volumes about cultural attitudes).

And the commenter above is well intentioned but misguided when it comes to deprecating hand sanitizers. Alcohol-based hand-sanitizers do not encourage the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria; alcohol is a disinfectant, not an antibiotic (bleach is another example of a disinfectant). It is safe and responsible to use alcohol-based hand-sanitizers, and they are effective against both bacteria and viruses.

I'm an 8th grade teacher in FCPS. I just asked my students. They said there's never any soap in the bathroom. Go figure. There's almost always soap in the teacher bathrooms...

There's only soap in the bathrooms at my kid's school when the parents put it there. Seriously. We have to bring in one or two things of it in the beginning of the school year, and at some point during the year, we're asked again.

My kid always washes his hands (the older one, that is). When he was a little younger (5 or so) and not as tall as he is now, men would come out of the men's room laughing and ask me if I was his mom (to which I'd say yes) and apparently they had to help him wash his hands and get a paper towel to dry his hands. (I know, I'm a horrible parent, for letting him go to the bathroom himself. But he refused to go to the girl's room and, well, I pretty much agreed with him...).

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no3_supp/levy.htm

Here is a report of the dangers of antibacterial products from the CDC.

Right now, I am looking at the germ-X hand santizer which says antibacterial on the front of the bottle. Now, it may be mislabeled and indeed not be an antibacterial product versus an alchohol based . If you look further on the back label it does say main ingredient alcohol. But why are they writing antibacterial on the label if it doesn't include an antibiotic in it?

I don't know if they encourage my step-son to wash his hands. I do know we have to provide paper towels and hand soap as part of his back-to-school supplies. Don't get me started on how I feel about providing toiletries.

So all I have to say is that if I am providing toiletries to the school because they are clearly too poor to provide the students with anything but the physical toilet and sink... they had better be making sure that they are available and he is actually using them.

I'm with you Billie.
Foamy: purel is only alcohol. I dont' buy anti-bacterial for just the reasons that you say!

Kelly: I'm SOOO sorry for my error. I've updated the entry to correct my mistakes.

re antibacterial soaps: The Post wrote about the question of whether antimicrobial soaps are breeding tougher bugs in 2007. Here's a link for anyone who's interested:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/11/12/ST2007111200716.html

Thanks. I will be sure to buy Purel. You learn something new each day. I still wonder if rubbing alcohol on your hands several times a day is a good thing. I still think good old soap and water is best (if available).

Billie: I can't believe they make you buy the soap and paper towels. Our school asked for chalk and dry erase markers this year. I bet soap and towels will be on the list next.

Bathrooms in middle and high school are no-mans land.

My kids would rush in after school and use the bathroom because they'd gone all day without using one.

Schools would probably do better to put hand sanitizer in the cafeteria line.

Soap in middle and high school are a tricky issue since middle and high school students tend to behave miserably in the restrooms and manage to get soap, water and paper towels everywhere just for the fun of it. As a chemistry teacher I provide at my own expense soap at every lab station. My students also clean their desks daily with chlorox wipes that I provide.

Don't know whether the boys' schools have soap, but it's such a headache to get them to wash hands properly when we're at home, that I can't imagine them doing so at school anyway. It really bugs me, too. I'm a borderline fanatic about handwashing - thanks to a mother and grandmother who worked in hospitals all their careers. So, I just kind of grit my teeth and remind myself that their immune systems are getting excellent work-outs all the time.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are okay. The two problems with them are that if there's actual dirt on the hands, the sanitizer won't remove it, and whatever is underneath it isn't going to be affected much. And the second problem: the alcohol will dry out the skin and can cause chapping if it's used frequently, and/or if the user has dry skin to begin with.

We had some sort of flu-like illness go through the whole family just before the whole flap about H1N1. Older son came home from school on Friday, and could barely make it through his piano lesson that night. He was down for the next four days, and went back to school on Wed. That afternoon, younger son called from school because he was getting sick. By the time I got him home, I knew I was coming down with it too, and a few hours later DH was down too. Again, four days of flu-symptom-Misery, and by Monday we were all back to school and work, and hearing the "swine flu" news. So, we called up the HMO and asked if we should be tested. Nope, they weren't going to bother.

Anyway, if what went through our family was the dreaded swine flu, it's not that big a deal. I've had worse cases of flu that lasted a whole lot longer. We all have.

The handwashing discussion should not be just limited to children.

I agree handwashing for many is sporadic.

FWIW, I can't stand the anti-bacterial hand sanitizer gels, and since they are mostly unnecessary I don't carry or use them. I am also somewhat fanatic about handwashing too, so I have hammered it into my kid's heads (with mixed results, but mostly good) and kept it at soap and water. We don't get sick very often and we attribute it to handwashing at home and in public, good genes and cleaning our doorknobs.

Rubbing gel on grubby hands is gross, so for kids in elementary school I don't see it as good option (my daughter has really dry skin too, gel dries out them out further). I have heard all kinds of reasons for using the gel over handwashing in school, one of which is it saves time. I call BS on that and all the other excuses, just let the kids wash their hands! IF they have soap - that is disturbing! I have never seen the classrooms or girls bathroom at our elementary without soap, so I am hoping that stays the same in Middle School.

DCPS middle school- NW DC On several occasions I've used the restroom and there has not been soap. I couldn't believe it. Hand washiing, throughly I'll add, is the FIRST defense against any infection. Never mind, it's just plain cleanliness to wash your hands periodically throughout the day.

Thank you, WaPo , for publishing this extremely critical information about Universal Precautions: Infection control.

The answer is VERY SIMPLE: Everyone, and I mean everyone, must carry a chopped-off piece of soap in a snack-sized (the smallest) b a g g i e. Adults and children. One never knows when it is necessary to use a public bathroom. And one never knows whether soap will be there or not. Everyone, everyone can slip this little bit of soap in their pocket or purse.

It is like an insurance policy, pandemic flu or not. This should always be the case. Even places that ordinarily always carry soap may run out, but no one in the establishment - wherever it is - may have been told to check and replace what is not there.

Simple, least chemicals-soap is best and often cheapest. For example, Dr. Bronners. Buy in a co-op grocery - a big bottle, and put it in little bottles. A great solution and one alternative to a chunk of soap from a bar in a tiny baggie. Both are terrific. If water is scarce, heat two large pots of water and put a bar of soap in one. Wash, singing the song of your choice. "This land is your land" would be appropriate right now - the 90th birthday celebration of Pete Seeger's life. Inky Dinky Spider. Doo wah diddie diddie dum diddie dum.....variety is the spice of life!!!!

The CDC is saying alcohol-based hand sanitizers are okay.....as a Consumer Union "advanced advocate", I went on a scouting mission in the local supermarket today to find a squirty/wipey without a long list of chemicals, and I found none.

The possibly best (haven't looked it up yet) solution for hands dry or cracked from washing ( it is also the smallest) has only petroleum as its active product and a short list of gunky chemicals further down...it may be good. Check the WEB, because it could also be plopped in a pocket or backpack, or wherever - as we all learn that hand washing with soap and water is the way to go. At all times, not just now. And don't forget a small bottle of Dr. Bronner's as an alternative...it is as pure as the driven snow!

Agreed that washing hands is important but even more key is coughing into your elbow and keeping your hands from your face.
You cannot wash hands after you touch EVERYTHING but you can keep the palm of your hands that picks up all the invisible germs and viruses away from your mouth, nose, eyes and ears. We get sick when our hands transfer germs to our face.
Coughing into your elbow is HUGE for not spreading germs if you have them. Don't use your hands!! Hands touch elbows don't. Do an internet search on cough into elbow. They have been recommending this for years.
I just learned this on the Germy Wormy website and feel that everyone should know how to not get and give germs and viruses

Check it out: http://www.germywormy.com