Hand hygiene: the first step in swine flu prevention!

Hand hygiene is the first step towards swine flu prevention!

Swine flu prevention is a matter of ‘hand hygiene’! Last week it became official: the UK and US government recommend ‘hand hygiene’ as the first step in swine flu prevention. And last wednesday Barack Obama told the American people: ‘Wash your hands’! Applying hand hygiene: what does that really mean? Let’s take a look at what is need for HAND HYGIENE!!”

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS FOR ‘HAND HYGIENE’! - 1 - “Wash your hands regularly with soap and water water, do not forget to scrub between your fingers and the back of your hands!” - 2 - “Use paper wipes for drying your hands, no warm air dryers!” - 3 - “Do not touch food before washing your hands!” - 4 - “When sneezing use a tissue, and throw the tissue away quickly and carefully!” - 5 - “When coughing use a tissue, not your hands!” - 6 - “Do not put your fingers in your mouth, do not bite your fingernails!” - 7 - “Do not shake hands, and avoid the fist bump!” - 8 - “After shaking hands or other skin contact, wash your hands as soon as possible!” - 9 - “Avoid touching objects in public spaces!” - 10 - “When using antimicrobial/antiseptic soap, combine with using hand oil/lotion, to avoid dry hand injuries!” SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • Swine flu prevention is a matter of ‘hand hygiene’! • A kiss is healthier than a handshake! • Your health is in your hands! • warning: why hand sanitizers may increase risk of swine flu exposure! • How to stop the swine flu? No handshaking, try Barack Obama’s fist bump!

The hands of the 44th president of the US: Barack Obama!

The right hand of Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama: inauguration photo Presidential Palm Reading: the Barack Obama ‘hand-file’! • President: 2009-?; • Dexterity: left handed; • Hand type: long, bony; • Fingers: long fingers, long ring finger.

Earlier this year TIME presented 9 large hand photos to US palm reader Robin Gile, and asked his to present a hand reading. Without knowing that it was Barack Obama’s hand, this is how Robin Gile described Obama’s hand:

“A Good Awareness of Theater”

“The curve of this head line shows the most imagination and creativity,” said Gile. “The little finger, the way it’s so straight, shows he’s very honest. He’s the most visual, with a good awareness of theater. The gap between the beginning of the head line and the life line show that he’s a very independent thinker — he can’t just be told things, he has to prove it to himself. The curve of his thumb, and the fleshy tip, shows that he remains constant — he’s a good starter and a good finisher.”

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING:

• Barack Obama: hand of power!
• Barack Obama is the 7th left handed US president!
• Barack Obama & the future in healing hands!
• The hands of Barack Obama: a hand full of power!
• How to recognize the hand of a US president?

How to stop the swine flu? No handshaking, try Barack Obama’s fist bump!

Last year you could have seen president Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle doing the fist bump on many occasion during the election campaign. Now Obama’s lovely greeting gesture might help to stop the swine flu epedimic! Why? Swine flu prevention has become for a large part become a matter of “hand hygiene”, so the handshake is now no longer recommended to greet other people in daily life. Instead the fist bump is much more harmless in terms of hand hygiene! Philip M. Tierno Jr., PhD, director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University Medical Centre says: “Eighty percent of all infectious diseases are transmitted by contact both direct and indirect – direct such as kissing, indirect such as shaking someone’s hand. Frequent hand washing is the single most important weapon we have against the swine flu disease.” With the all the focus on H1NI or swine flu, the alternative of the fist bump might become very helpfull in the battle with the ‘influenza A’ virus. For, over the past weeks various reports from around the world indicate that despite the danger, people find it very hard not to use the handshake merely because in many countries handshaking has become so normal – especially in the business and workplace etiquette! So, don’t hesitate … no handshaking anymore, try the obama’s fistbump! SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • The history of the fist bump! • Shake it up Barack Obama: let’s do the fist bump! • The swine flu etiquette: use good hand hygiene, no handshaking, no mask, to prevent a pandemic! • What the swine flu could do to a young girl in Uganda!

Swine flu fears in Great Britain: sale of hand gel rocket in Worksop!

On july 14, swine flue was reported to hit the Bassetlaw region with three suspected cases of swine flue (Influenza A – H1N1), and in at least one of those cases a nine-year-old child at Worksop’s St John’s Primary School was confirmed to be suffering from the disease. On july 23 ‘National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS)’ was launched featured with the simple advice ‘CATCH IT, BIN IT, KILL IT’ – and within a few hours the website crashed due to its popularity. On july 25 – last saturday – sales of hand gel had rocket in Worksop due to the swine flue fears. What can you do? To help limit the spread, wash your hands regularly with soap and warm water. Antibacterial, alcohol hand gels can stop the virus. When sneezing, catch all droplets in a clean tissue and dispose in a bin immediately. If you are diagnosed with swine flu, stay at home. Adults are generally infectious to others for five days, children for seven days. Do not go to work until all of the symptoms have cleared and you are fully recovered. According the ‘National Pandemic Flu Service’ the basic rules to prevent from being affected by the disease are: “- Covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible; - Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully; - Maintaining good basic hygiene, for example washing hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from our hands to face or to other people; - Cleaning hard surfaces (e.g. door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning product; - Making sure your children follow this advice.” SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • A kiss is healthier than a handshake! • Hand Hygiene: warm air dryers increase bacteria on hands! • The swine flu etiquette: use good hand hygiene, no handshaking, no mask, to prevent a pandemic! • Hand Hygiene: warm air dryers increase bacteria on hands!

How to recognize the hand of a US president: from Barack Obama to John F. Kennedy

Barack Obama. George W. Bush. Bill Clinton. George H.W. Bush. Ronald Reagan. Jimmy Carter. Gerald Ford. Richard Nixon. Lyndon Johnson. John F. Kennedy.

Presidential Palm Readings: the hands of 10 US presidents! Earlier this year TIME presented a photo essay of the hands of the last 9 US presidents – starting from Lyndon Johson to Barack Obama. On top of the photo essay, they asked hand expert palm reader Robin Gile to assess the palms of the presidents – without knowing which hand belonged to which president! But now some more advanced palm readings materials are available in a new article, titled: From Barack Obama to John F. Kennedy: 10 presidential US palm readings! This article included e.g.: - an advanced presidential photo session: ’60 presidential hands’; - an analysis of the most prominent characteristics in the hands of each president; - plus an analysis of the most common hand characteristics of the 10 performers of the ‘most wanted job’ in the world! Interestingly, the result of the analysis indicates that quite a few of these ‘presidential men’ appear to have a rather remarkable characteristic in their ‘head line’ (in the world of palmistry a.k.a. the ‘line of head’ or ‘headline’): The Sydney Line The Sydney line is known as a rather unusual long palmar ‘head line’ (which is usually found in less than 5% of normal populations). The presidential photos indicate that the following 4 presidents have this unusual hand characteristic: George H.W. Bush (both hands), Jimmy Carter (both hands), Gerald Ford (both hands), and Richard Nixon (right hand only). The double head line The ‘double head line’ is another unusual palmar characteristic (which is also found in less than 5% of normal populations). The presidential photos indicate that both Bill Clinton (left hand) & John F. Kennedy (right hand) have the ‘double head line’. Other interesting hand characteristics The photo research also revealed that 50% of the presidents appear to have the combination of a long ring finger (a.k.a. the ‘sun’ finger) AND a strong, long sun line (a vertical palmar line below the ring finger). Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and Lyndon Johnson all have/had this ‘sunny’ combination in their dominant hand! Other frequently observed hand characteristics are: a low ’2D:4D digit ratio’, and a long pinky finger. SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • The Sydney line! • Psychodiagnostic Chirology • NASA presents: ‘the hand of god!’ • What does the hand of a celebrity reveal?

The large hand of Zhao Liang from China – the new tallest man in the world!

The large hand of Zhao Liang – unofficially he was measured as the tallest man in the world! In april (2009) Mister Zhao Liang from China entered the Tianjin hospital for an operation to relieve pain from an old muscle tendon injury on his left foot. His height caused a stir among hospital staff who urged him to get measured properly in order to establish a new Guinness World Record! Zhao Liang’s length was measured at 2.46m (8.07 ft. tall), making him 10cm (3.9 inches) taller than Bao Xishun, the current tallest man, who is 2.36m (7.9ft). Rather remarkable, contrary to many other rather exceptionally long people in the world, Zhao Liang’s remarkable body seize is not caused by a medical problem. Zhao Liang’s parents are of a more usual height: - his father measuring 1.8m (5.9 ft.) – which is quite long, for the average length for chinese men is 1.73m; - and his mother measures 1.68m (5.5 ft.). Though the seize of his hands may not be as large as the hands of Leonid Stadnyk from Ukraine (who appears to have the largest ‘normal’ male hands in the world) and Duangjai Samaksamarn from Thailand (who appears to have the largest ‘abnormal’ females hands in the world), the hand of Zhao Liang look very impressive compared to the hand of one of the doctors of the Tianjin hospital – see the photo above. Nevertheless, Zhao Liang’s mother is quite a bit concerned about the health of her son: “He [Zhao Liang] has a big appetite and can easily eat eight hamburger-sized steamed buns and three dishes for dinner. But I am so worried about his marriage, job and his health that my hair has turned white.” READ MORE ABOUT LARGE HANDS: • Leonid Stadnyk has the largest hand in the world! • Lee Redmond had the largest fingernails in the world! • The large hand of Zhao Liang: World’s Tallest Man? • The hands of the 3 tallest men in the world!

5 Doctors in India study link between palmistry & HIV (AIDS)!

Doctors in the Sawai Man Singh hospital in Jaipur, India, study potential link between palmistry and HIV (AIDS)!

What is the link between palmistry and HIV (AIDS)? Doctors in Jaipur, India, study the answer! 5 Doctor researchers are studying the hand lines of HIV patients to see if they have changed in any way or if they look any different from the hand lines of normal and healthy people! Palmistry is a common practise in India for reading people’s personalities, matchmaking between men and women, and for reading their future from the palm of the hand. Now the doctors hope the research may find a connection between palmistry and HIV cases.

HIV (AIDS) concerns a big medical problem in India: around 2.5 million men, women and children are living with the human immuno-deficiency virus, commonly known as HIV. This is about the third in the world after Nigeria and South Africa. The 5 doctors hope that their study will open a new chapter in identifying and curing HIV patients. Doctor D.K. Mathur, heading the HIV- dermatoglyphics research said: “… There’s been hardly any research on dermatoglyphics and its relationship with HIV. We thought that if HIV AIDS have any effect on this (dermatoglyphics) or if there are changes in palm lines if a person is seriously affected by HIV. We’ll study palm printouts of 250 HIV patients and 100 palm printouts of healthy people. We’ll do a comparative study to find what are the major differences in whirls and ridges of palms of these people so that HIV people can be given a cure.” The study has been cautiously been welcomed by the ‘Rajasthan Network for people living with HIV’. SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • Doctors study link between Palmistry & HIV! • Palm reading goes medical • 24 Percent of Indians consult a palmist! • Palmistry reports: news, articles & readings • What your physique reveals about your health!

Hand of a young girl in Uganda!

Hand of a young girl in Uganda: a few health facts! Today, monday 13 july 2009, the 4th and the 5th case of swine flue – the Influenza A (H1N1) – has been confirmed in Uganda. What are the health chances for children in Uganda? A few health facts about children in Uganda: - Malaria, respiratory infections and diarrhea are the main causes of under-5 mortality. - Approximately 20,000 babies are infected by HIV annually through mother-to-child transmission. - Nearly half of the estimated 2 million orphans are orphaned due to AIDS, with the total expected to rise to 3.5 million by 2010 – while today the population in Uganda counts about 31 million people! While about 13.5 million children (6 months-15 years) were immunized against measles in 2003, how many children will be immunized for swine flue if the pandemic spreads among the population in Uganda? SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • The hands of children: fingernails & health! • Finger length reveals talent in the hands of young children • Use of human Nails as bio-indicators of heavy metals among school age children in Kenya!

Cicely Tyson told Larry King (CNN): ‘Michael Jackson’s white hand glove was to cover the skin disease vitiligo’!

Cicely Tyson reveals to CNN: ‘Michael Jackson’s white hand glove was to cover the vitiligo! Last week Emmy Award winner Cicely Tyson – who has been a friend of Michael since the 80′s – told Larry King (CNN) about how Michael Jackson came to wear the glove and saying that it was due to Jackson having vitiligo. Tyson told Larry King that the two shared a fashion designer and she was there when the glove was being created. And it all does make sense: The ‘single white glove’ (later covered in silver sequins) made its television debut on Michael’s left hand during his stunning performance of “Billy Jean” at Motown’s 25th anniversary TV special in 1983 – and it was also featured in the “Billy Jean” videoclip. And both his ‘white fingertape’ and the ‘white armbrace’ can be related to the same purpose – for, there have several related theories about the true purposes of these wicked attributes! Vitiligo is known for manifesting first on the hands – see the picture below (Michael Jackson’s hands are not included). Nevertheless, Michael Jackson was able to create some magic around the hand & arm features by telling his audience some ‘Wacko Jacko’ stories. Michael was once asked why he was wearing the piece of stage clothing offstage (actually in a hospital burn unit) and in a most innappropriate circumstance and he replied, “this way I am never offstage.” Cicely Tyson revealed to CNN that she and Michael Jackson shared a fashion designer in the 1980s: “All of a sudden, he [the designer] said, ‘I’m doing this glove for Michael’. Michael was beginning to develop the vitiligo and it started on his hand. The glove was to cover the vitiligo; that’s how that glove came into being.” The glove design and reason for it were not just hearsay for Tyson, she said. “I was there when he was creating it.” SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: In memoriam: ‘The hands of Michael Jackson’! • Michael Jackson’s hand cast at Madame Tussauds! • Michael Jackson’s hands: a clue to his sudden death? • Michael Jackson’s single white hand glove! • Michael Jackson’s hands: a manicurist’s worst nightmare! Over the years the “King of Pop” used many hand gloves.

The 3 tallest men in the world & their hands: Bao Xishun, Zhao Liang & Leonid Stadnyk!

Who has the largest hand? While Robert Wadlow from the US is known as the tallest man in history, today the official title ‘world’s tallest man’ has become a true battle-field! Let’s take a look at the hands of the biggest 3 contenders: The left hand of Bao Xishun. Today, Bao Xishun – a former herdsman from China – has the official Guinness World Records title ‘tallest living man‘. Bao Xishun’s body height was measured at 2.36 meters (7 feet 9 inches). The left hand of Leonid Stadnyk. However… in 2007 Leonid Stadnyk – a former veterinarian from Ukraine. Leonid Stadnyk’s body height was unofficially measured at 2.59 meters (8 feet 5 inches). But in 2008 Mr. Stadnyk refused to be measured under the new Guinness World Records guidelines, and so the the official Guinness World Records title ‘tallest man’ was re-gained by Bao Xishun. The right hand of Zhao Liang. But since april 2009 a new younger contender is known, named Zhao Liang – a former basketball player from China. Zhao Liang’s body height was measured by doctors at the Tianjin hospital at 2.46 meters (8 feet 7 inches).