Schools can be an environment immensely susceptible to germs, in fact one of the largest out there. Just like professionals in the workplace, students spend most of their day at school, sharing common spaces such as desks, eating areas, lockers and more. This results in sharing illnesses, bacteria & germs as well. (This is not the type of sharing your parents taught you!)  Students, teachers and staff are in close proximity throughout the day, unknowingly passing germs along to one another. This results in millions of school days lost, higher dropout rates and billions spent on substitute teachers each year. Lets not forget that parents are affected as well - missing millions of work days annually as a result of a sick child.

These are just a few important reasons why a good hand hygiene program is essential in schools. What can you do to prevent this? Keeping your hands clean is the first step in doing your part to avoid and reduce germs.