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By COLIN HICKEY
Staff Writer 12/07/2007

enlarge Staff photo by Dvaid Leaming

UH OH: Winslow Elementary School student Aiken Leclair looks at his hands under a special light after applying a lotion that highlights germs. The equipment was brought in by Inland Hospital to illustrate the importance of hand washing.

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Registered nurse Christian Jandreau, an infection control practitioner at Inland Hospital, came armed with an ultraviolet fluorescent lamp and a special cream that exposed the bacteria on the hands of students she examined.

Those examined included the 14 kindergartners in teacher Jane Doan's classroom, all of whom were willing subjects.

"That is so cool," one wide-eyed kindergartner said of the lamp.

"Sweet," another said.

Jandreau didn't give students a sanitized version of her purpose.

"Part of what I do," she said, "is teach people how to wash their hands well so they don't get sick."

Jandreau planned on visiting 14 classrooms at Winslow Elementary over consecutive days to spread the word -- an effort she hoped would help stem the spread of germs.

"I think starting at this age group is great," she said, "because it starts a habit."

And the habit of washing hands on a regular basis is one many adults could stand to pick up.

A survey by Harris Interactive in 2007 found that although 92 percent of adults say they wash their hands after using a public restroom, observations reveal that only 77 percent do so.

That is a decrease from 2005 when 83 percent were observed -- men are mainly to blame for the decline given that observers saw only 66 percent of them washing their hands.

Jandreau said another problem is that hand washing often is done improperly.

"By my observations," she said, "I would guess people are washing their hands for just three to five seconds."

That is not nearly enough time, she said.

Jandreau told Doan's students that a thorough hand washing takes about 15 seconds, or long enough to hum "Happy Birthday."

She also told students that they need to wash both sides of their hands, as well as between their fingers, with soap or disinfectant of some sort.

Jandreau stressed that the washing should be vigorous.

"Did you know," she said, "that the soap does not work well if you don't make a lot of bubbles?"

Doan's students -- with one exception -- came in pairs to check their hands under the ultraviolet light. Most had more than a few germs.

To relieve fears, Jandreau told the kindergartners that most germs aren't harmful.

At the same time, she emphasized that in the war against germs, which literally is hand-to-hand combat, one washing is not always enough.

That proved to be the case for many of the kindergartners who came back for a second inspection after a trip to the washroom.

"If you still had germs on your hands," Jandreau said, "then you know next time you need to wash your hands a little bit better."

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