Web searches for “hand washing” was correlated with lower confirmed COVID-19 cases in 21 nations, a National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) analysis of Google’s search data showed, the authors of a study said on Friday.
Searches for the keyword pair in Taiwan and the nation’s successful disease-prevention efforts support the findings, the researchers said.
Lin Yu-hsuan (林煜軒), an assistant investigator in the NHRI’s Institute of Popular Health Sciences, headed the research, which was published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
Photo copied by Cheng Ming-hsiang, Taipei Times
Three weeks after days on which the data showed a spike in searches for “hand washing,” there were fewer confirmed cases, Lin said.
Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand had higher frequencies of such searches, with all three subsequently showing lower numbers of confirmed cases, he said, adding that Iran, Italy and South Korea showed the opposite result after fewer searches.
The high number of searches in Taiwan shows that the NHRI’s efforts to relay pandemic information were working and Taiwanese were following up on it, Lin said.
Taiwan’s success should be credited to the government and the public, he said.
In related news, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital Department of Pediatrics doctor Yu Meng-kung (余孟恭) on Friday said that people should wash their hands with soap and water rather than isopropyl alcohol.
Medical personnel complain of dermatitis because alcohol dissolves sebum secretions on the hands, Yu said.
While the best way to prevent dermatitis would be to avoid sanitizers, they are an occupational hazard that medical workers must face, he said.
However, outside of healthcare situations, people should wash their hands with soap and water, and dry them completely before going back to work, he said, adding that appropriate use of lotions to keep the skin moist would further protect the hands.
If people have redness, puffiness or itching of the hands, they should visit a doctor immediately, he said.
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