> Not in the "wash your hands every thirty minutes like Howard Hughes" kind of way,

Hold on, this isn't that crazy in today's day and age. I used to wash my hands basically only when using the restroom or before eating. Since the pandemic though, I started upping that a lot (not every 30 minutes, but pretty frequently) and since then almost never get sick.

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hackingonempty 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The Cochrane review of "physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses" that infamously does not find a significant effect for masking does find significant effects for hand washing.

	▲	disgruntledphd2 4 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		It's worth noting that Cochrane reviews are normally the minimal effect sizes you'll see, as they pull in every study and hate self reported measures. Don't get me wrong, they're my first port of call (mostly for the funnel plots), but they're one source, with their own biases.
	▲	gowld 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Even that is overselling it: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD... > Key messages > We are uncertain whether wearing masks or N95/P2 respirators helps to slow the spread of respiratory viruses based on the studies we assessed. > Hand hygiene programmes may help to slow the spread of respiratory viruses. > There is uncertainty about the effects of face masks. The low to moderate certainty of evidence means our confidence in the effect estimate is limited, and that the true effect may be different from the observed estimate of the effect. > Hand hygiene is likely to modestly reduce the burden of respiratory illness, and although this effect was also present when ILI [influenza-like illnesses] and laboratory‐confirmed influenza were analysed separately, it was not found to be a significant difference for the latter two outcomes. > Our confidence in these results is generally low to moderate for the subjective outcomes related to respiratory illness, but moderate for the more precisely defined laboratory‐confirmed respiratory virus infection, related to masks and N95/P2 respirators. > Relatively low numbers of people followed the guidance about wearing masks or about hand hygiene, which may have affected the results of the studies.

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s_dev 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49608023

Not arguing one way or the other just brining up the last Hacker News conversation where it was established that dirty hands are good for you.

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EvanAnderson 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Anecdote: During the pandemic I added washing my hands every time I get back to my office building (and specifically after interacting with surfaces the public interacts with) to my usual hand washing (after bathrooms and before eating, just like you). I keep a towel in my hand for any door handles between the restroom and my office door. Since doing this I feel like I've noticed fewer illnesses, too.

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tjwebbnorfolk 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> in today's day and age

The human world today is freer of pathogens than at any point in all history.

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mathisfun123 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

This is exactly why I think this article is wrong: it starts with a false premise that devs are sane to begin with (not because you're right or wrong re hand washing but because this is an insane thing to focus on from the article).