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Wash Away the Five Most Common Handwashing MythsCINCINNATI --(Business Wire)-- Think you know how to wash your hands? Think again. A 2013 study showed that only 5 percent of people properly wash their hands on a daily basis. In honor of International Clean Hands Week, Sept. 21-27, Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) and Henry the Hand Foundation have teamed up to dispel the five most common handwashing myths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps people can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health found that people touch their faces on average of 3.6 times per hour. And with more than 50 percent of healthy persons carrying Staphylococcus aureus in or on their nasal passages, throat, hair or skin - handwashing is something that people can't afford to do wrong. "From schools to hospitals to office buildings, germs linger everywhere," said Dr. Will Sawyer, infection prevention specialist and founder of Henry the Hand Foundation. "We constantly touch our faces and other common surfaces throughout the day - often unconsciously. By making sure you follow proper handwashing protocols, you can help stop the spread of these germs; protecting yourself and others from potential sickness." To clean up handwashing misconceptions, Cintas and Henry the Hand Foundation have identified the following myths:
"Many people don't realize that they are washing their hands incorrectly," said Dave Mesko, Senior Director of Marketing, Cintas Corporation. "As we head into flu season, effective infection prevention depends upon proper handwashing, so it's important to learn and use correct practices." To learn more about Cintas solutions for facilities, visit www.cintas.com/facilityservices. To learn more about Dr. Will and Henry the Hand Foundation, visit http://www.henrythehand.org. About Cintas: Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types primarily throughout North America. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom cleaning and supplies, tile and carpet cleaning, promotional products, first aid, safety, fire protection products and services and document management services for more than 1 million businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS and is a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. About Dr. Will Sawyer/ Henry the Hand Foundation Henry the Hand Foundation is a "grass roots" non-profit organization stretching their resources to share Henry's Hand awareness message with children and adults across the globe. Henry and Dr. Will are asking you to "give us a hand" to help "spread the word not the germs!" We encourage parents and health professionals to "Adopt a School" (daycare, Head Start program, pre-school or school) in their community to act as ambassadors for Henry's Infection Prevention Program to allow them to take a leadership role in teaching infection prevention to benefit their health.
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