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According to researchers at West Virginia University, it may be better to skip the handshake with the doctor at your next hospital visit. By studying the amount of skin-to-skin contact a hand shake requires, researchers concluded that a “fist bump” is a safer alternative in terms of germ transmission.
“One possible solution to help control the spread of infectious diseases in the healthcare setting would be to eliminate voluntary hand-to-hand contact,” the authors wrote. “Hand-to-hand contact is a known vector for the transmission of infectious diseases; as many as 80% of individuals retain some disease-causing bacteria after washing.”
Although eliminating voluntary handshakes would reduce infections that thrive in a hospital environment, it would neglect the social importance that the handshake signifies.
“The authors ignore the importance of therapeutic touch from the physician. Even a simple thing like a handshake from a physician carries with it more significance than a handshake in other social or business settings. It’s just not the same thing,” said Mark Schleiss, M.D., division director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology at the University of Minnesota.
Schleiss also noted physicians wash their hands many more times than people probably think.
“There were 20 handshakes or 20 fist bumps with no interval hand-washing [in the study],” said Schleiss. “No physician would shake hands with 20 consecutive patients/parents without washing his/her hands between each contact.”
So, what’s the final verdict? Stick with the handshake.
“It would just be so awkward to fist bump a parent and have to explain why I did it,” said Schleiss. “Handshakes are more than just social norms; it’s about trust, healing, and establishment of rapport.”
The post Do docs need a new way to greet? The case for and against the handshake appeared first on Health Talk.
