Facing up to the flu season

The seasons are associated with many different customs, activities and events – some more pleasant than others – and autumn/winter is a prime example. While we can look forward to the beautiful colours of the changing leaves, bonfires and Halloween fun, there is also the spectre of flu and other infections on the horizon.

In the Department of Health’s Seasonal Flu Plan 2012/13, flu is described as ‘an unpredictable but recurring pressure that the NHS faces during the winter’. Influenza (most commonly referred to as flu) is an acute viral infection of the respiratory tract, characterised by the onset of fever, chills, headache, muscle and joint pain, and fatigue. Other symptoms can include a cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and diarrhoea. 

Flu is passed from person to person through droplets created when someone with the infection sneezes or coughs. It can also be spread through contact with surfaces on which the virus has been deposited – making hand hygiene even more important.

Counting the cost of workplace absenteeism through illness is another regular event and, according to ‘Fit for purpose’, the CBI’s absence and workplace health survey 2013, the direct cost to the UK economy in 2012 was £14bn. This is decrease of £3bn on 2011, which is a move in the right direction, but it is still a significant amount of money to lose in what remains a challenging economic climate.

Formulation and functionality matter

To encourage employees to practise good hand hygiene they need access to systems that combine good aesthetics, accessibility and ease of use, while being equipped with pleasant and effective hygienically advanced formulations. To put it simply, products and systems that people actually want to use.

Efficacy is, of course, an important issue, so only those companies who can prove the effectiveness of their soaps or hand rubs against germs through independent scientific testing should be considered. However, the best products will successfully combine this with soothing, moisturising ingredients that are gentle on the skin, meaning that employees can use the products again and again, knowing that their hands will be kept in good condition.

Aesthetics also play a valuable role in encouraging people to develop healthy hand hygiene habits. Dispensers that look good and are easy to use, which are sited at both key and convenient locations, are bound to be more popular. The use of innovative technology also helps, and that’s why touch-free dispensers are proving so popular. These intuitively sense the presence of hands and dispense just the right amount of product every time. The fact that they are ‘touch-free’ also increases their hygiene rating. 

The right refills

How you refill your dispensers is another important area to consider, as this can have an effect on hygiene and the time it takes to clean and maintain your dispensers. 

Open reservoir dispensers and refillable hand soap can contribute to cross contamination problems because they are open to the environment. It’s not always practical for maintenance operatives to thoroughly clean dispensers each time they need to be refilled, so this increases the risk of bacteria growing inside and being spread to unsuspecting users. A study* conducted by microbiologists at the University of Arizona found that 25% of bulk soap dispensers contain soap with unsafe levels of bacteria.

If a refill is sanitary sealed it means that the product inside is protected from contamination because it is factory sealed and includes a fresh valve with each refill. Its hygiene and health benefits are therefore obvious – but they also make for efficient use of time for hard-pressed maintenance staff because they are so much simpler and quicker to replace.

Good hand hygiene can play a crucial role in helping to reduce the spread of infections in the workplace – and not just flu, but others such as norovirus. By ensuring employees have access to the right hand hygiene products, and not just in the washroom but other ‘critical points’ such as kitchen areas, employers can take a significant step towards minimising workplace absenteeism.

Suzanne De Maine is european marketing manager for GOJO Europe.