The Covid-19 crisis was a disaster from many points of view, but it did have one positive outcome: it proved that hand washing can massively limit the transmission of viruses and bacteria. Now, bottles of antibacterial gel seem to have been abandoned, but the habit is still, we hope, more widespread than it used to be. And if you haven't yet got into the way of washing your hands regularly, this new study may well change your mind.
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What's on our hands?
Throughout the pandemic crisis, everyone was repeating the message: 'Wash your hands'. A logical piece of advice, in the sense that our hands come into contact with all types of surfaces (desks, chairs, tables, subway bars...). But what would we find on an average person's hand if we looked at it under a microscope?
As forensic science is on the rise, a team of scientists have indeed asked themselves this question and carried out a new study on the subject. 'This study was designed to determine baseline levels of blood, semen, saliva, hair/fibers and stains/debris on the hands in the general population,' they state in the introduction to their work, published in the journal Elsevier.
The idea is to be able to compare these levels with those of a person involved in a legal case (whether suspect or victim):
As hands are often one of the areas sampled to recover biological evidence in criminal investigations, our study sought to assess the material present on hand swabs taken from the general population, as this could have an impact on the assessment results compared to an alternative hypothesis.
The scientists therefore took samples of the substances present on the hands of 66 anonymous participants (45 women, 21 men), and the results are rather... surprising.
Read more:What to do if you get sperm in your eyes
Semen was found on the hands of two participants
A total of 132 samples were taken (one sample from each hand). Hair and dust were detected on 30% of them, while saliva was found in 9% of samples. The most astonishing result? Sperm was found in 2% of samples!
This sperm was also detected in samples from women's hands. The Daily Mail points out that the first 'had even washed her hands an hour before the swab test.' The media outlet adds, however, that:
Researchers said the results could not confirm whether the sperm heads were present due to recent sexual activity or whether they had been picked up from contaminated surfaces.
Admittedly, the number of participants is very small, but if the results are representative of the general population, we're going to be rubbing our hands very hard the next time we go to the bathroom...
Read more:
⋙ Reproductive crisis looms as sperm count drops, according to study
⋙ Here's how to tell if you're allergic to sperm
This article has been translated from Gentside FR.
Sources used:
Science Direct: Assessing the background levels of body fluids on hands
The Dailymail: Revealed: The horrifying things that are REALLY lurking on your hands
