The only and most important thing we can do to "catch" no disease and not spread the infection is to wash our hands. In the survey, 91% of American adults said they always wash their hands after using the public restroom, although observation has shown that only 83% have done so. The observation of 6336 inhabitants in 4 big cities (Atlanta, Chicago, New York, San Francisco) during their visits to public places showed that 90% of women and only 75% of men washed their hands after going to bathroom. At the same time, with a telephone survey of 1,013 citizens, 97% of women and 96% of men said that they always or usually wash their hands after visiting the public toilet.

Sports fans at one of the Atlanta stadiums were the worst at following simple hand hygiene rules. About a quarter (26%) of them did not wash their hands after using the toilet (16% of women and 37% of men). The biggest gender differences were seen in one of the stations in New York, where 92% of women washed their hands, while among men, only 64% followed the simple rule. In Chicago and San Francisco, 88% of those observed observed hand hygiene, showing the best results among study participants.

In a telephone survey of a national sample of 1,013 American adults, the vast majority of respondents said that they always wash their hands after using the public toilet (91%), the home toilet (83%) , and before cooking and eating (77%) and before swaddling a baby (73%). The worst indicators were identified when other questions were answered. 42% of respondents wash their hands after playing with pets, 21% after contact with money and, more surprisingly, only 32% (39% of women and 24% of men) wash hands after coughing and sneezing.

Many people mistakenly believe that the viruses that cause colds and flu are spread mainly by aerosols, for example by sneezing, although in fact it is the hands that play a huge role in the spread. We continue repeatedly without touching our lips, noses, eyes during the day, and if we do not observe hand hygiene, viruses can infiltrate the mucous membranes and cause illness..

Compared to previous years, Americans' hygiene skills have deteriorated somewhat, although the results of the polls could be affected by the frankness of the responses. In 2003, 97% of women said they always wash their hands after the public toilet, while in 2005, 94%.

Such disappointing results have been obtained in the United States under conditions of propaganda jointly led by the American Society for Microbiology and the Soap and Detergent Association.