As USA Today reports, the team found a handshake spreads 10 times more bacteria than the fist bump — even when held for the same amount of time. It quotes study author David Whitworth saying, “A short, sweet fist bump will transmit the least bacteria.”
And the reasoning behind why the handshake is so much worse, even when duration is accounted for, is pretty simple: surface area. As Time writes, “Dr. Whitworth hypothesized that fist bumps are more hygienic mostly because they minimize the surface area of hand-to-hand contact, and they’re usually quicker than handshakes.”
And that’s not even taking into account that we touch way more things with our fingertips and palms than we do with the backs of our knuckles.
OK. So what’s next? Get rid of handshakes? Only do fist bumps? The logical conclusion is focus more on hand washing. It does help reduce the spread of bacteria.
The Healthy Handshake was originally published on blackdoctor.org
