The goal of National Handwashing Awareness Week is to decrease the spread of infectious diseases by empowering individuals to educate and help protect their communities. Working together we can make a difference! 

     In order to accomplish this goal, we need your involvement to help promote Hand Awareness (hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and cross contamination)!  Not handwashing alone.

    The first step is to share this link with everyone you know and care about. 

    The second step is to follow our recommendations as discussed on this page. 

       Schools are closing, we have a national emergency on our hands!

Illness is sweeping through workplaces, and our health is at risk. 

 What are YOU doing to stay healthy and prevent the spread of these infectious diseases?

       Imagine a world free of respiratory and gastro-intestinal illnesses.  Fear is rendering people powerless, unless they receive a vaccination to prevent the disease. This is far from the truth. 

       Everyone has the ability to prevent "giving" themself a respiratory illness and now can teach these infection prevention principles to their children at home, since most parents are more afraid of their children getting sick, than themselves! 

    Fortunately for you, Dr. Will and Henry the Hand Foundation  promote TRUE infection prevention techniques and strategies that are proven to reduce the spread of respiratory and gastro-intestinal illnesses.  These techniques will keep our schools in session, create healthier, safer home environments, and will increase employee productivity in our workplaces!   

Personal accountability is a critical component of the infection prevention puzzle.     

      Responsible individuals in homes, schools, work facilities, and all industries -- healthcare, food service to name a few -- understand the importance of preventing the spread of diseases. 

 Think back to your last respiratory or gastro-intestinal illness. You could not wait to be healthy again and promised yourself you would not repeat the same behavior that caused it.  Were your spirits better when you are sick or healthy?  Were you more productive during your day when you are sick or healthy? 

 Our School Kit, Hospital Kit and Home Kit are designed to simplify infection prevention teachings and empower you to apply these teachings to your sphere of influence.  In a world where complexity is king, we simplify what you really need to know in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease and reduce fear of pandemic.

  Applied knowledge is power.

     Armed with our Infection Prevention Tool Kit, and the adherance to the 4 Principles of Hand Awareness it's very easy to spread the word not the germs. 

 Another tool in the Tool Kit Dr.Will recommends is our Infection Prevention eNews targeting specific tips and updates around infection prevention and health.This eNews is about simplifying, reducing, interpreting, and consolidating lengthy medical reports, jargon-filled health information or media hype into practical knowledge that everyone can apply in their daily life. Deciphering what you really need to know can be tedious. 

 Our specialty is providing the practical information you need.  Dr. Will Sawyer is an international expert in infection prevention techniques and strategies. In our eNews, he will tell you what is really going on in infection prevention around the world AND how you can apply this knowledge in your community. 

 Together, we can ensure a healthier environment for our friends and family reducing respiratory and gastro-intestinal diseases, since humans are the petri-dish that "grow" all types of illnesses.  Let’s do ourselves, our friends, families and co-workers a favor, by practicing the acquired knowledge of Hand Awareness. 

    Why Handwashing is NOT the only key component to infection prevention in this complex environment in which we live:

     Most of us know that handwashing is one of the best ways to safeguard against illness.  As CDC and Prevention states that “handwashing is the single most important method for preventing infectious disease”. Many of us fail to realize is that handwashing is only a "single action" for your hands which then can easily be "contaminated" by the inadvertent "touch" of a contaminated surface (doorknob, side rail, counter top, chart, drinking fountain, chair, desk top, faucet, handle, etc.).

Most individuals who have been sick, "gave" themselves the illness that plagued them!  When we touch our “T-Zone” we are risking "giving" ourselves an infectious diseases that we may have "picked up" earlier that day.  If you feel you MUST touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, use a clean implement like a tissue.

Why Flu vaccines are not TRUE primary infection prevention techniques:

      There are some benefits to the flu vaccine. Flu vaccine has the potential to lower our reaction to a virus that we have “given” ourselves. The flu vaccine "gives" us a small dose of the flu virus or component of the flu virus, which initiates an immune response in our body to help "fight" the flu, if we "give" it to ourself. 

 Flu vaccines DO NOT prevent us from "giving" ourselves the flu!  If the strain of flu created for the vaccine differs from the flu-like germs we "give" ourselves, then we will still have a strong, adverse reaction to that virus. 

 If we have received a flu vaccine, we can still give ourselves the flu, if we put our hands in the T-Zone!  Practice the 4th principle of Hand Awareness and “Don’t Touch the T-Zone” for better health!

Taking ownership for our health instead of leaving our health in the “hands of Experts”:

    We tend to naturally gravitate towards the opinions and advice of experts who give us a “quick fix”.  The reality of flu vaccine production is that each year experts attempt to forecast which strains of flu will circulate. 

There is no guarantee that the annual flu vaccine created will match the flu viruses that circulate!  It’s an educated guess. Last year we missed the strain and the flu vaccine was not as effective as it could have been.

TRUE infection prevention calls for taking ownership of and accountability for our own health and for the well-being of those around us! National Handwashing Awareness Week 2009 aims to put the power to positively impact yourself and the community you influence in your hands.    

      So PLEASE, “Lend us your hand” in OUR campaign!