Reports of Bill Murray’s recent arrest for erratically driving a golf cart motivated me to dust off a copy of Caddyshack.

It’s a classic film…you know the scene…families leisurely at poolside, going for a swim, enjoying a summer’s day—an errant candy bar splashes in the midst of the bathers and when it is finally observed floating in the water someone screams…

Doodie!  Doodie!! 

The languid setting suddenly switches to one of shock, repulsion and pandemonium as everyone subsequently rushes to distance themselves from the buoyant turd.  Yup, I could see something similar happening in real life.  How easily the public is repelled when a potential threat is so conspicuous.

Aw…don’t touch it!

The raucous distancing the scene portrays is not far from what would happen in reality…if poop was always so visible.  But “poop” and a host of other micro flora undesirables are not always so discernable in the pool or on our hands. The ubiquitous reality of pathogens such as Norovirus, shigella, staph, and a quantity of others hitchhiking on our skin should be cause for a similar reaction – but towards the nearest supply of soap and water.  Convincing others of the importance of clean hands would be easier if potential contaminants were always so clearly visible and distasteful. 

Turds.  Double turds. 

Observational studies continue to show us that when contaminants are out of sight, handwashing is out of mind.  What better time than National Clean Hands Week and National Food Safety Education Month to renew our efforts to motivate others to get rid of doodie and other unwanted flora on their hands?  

It’s no big deal. 

Yes it is. Yeah, maybe Bill Murray could be the poster child for “Don’t Eat Poop.” But so should we.  Keep reminding, keep educating, and keep upholding the practice of using soap and water to distance us from pathogens.

When it comes to handwashing, we all need to “be the ball.”

Related websites: 
Food Safety Education Month:  http://www.foodsafety.gov/~fsg/september.html
National Clean Hands Week:  www.cleanhandscoalition.org

Michéle Samarya-Timm is a Health Educator for the Franklin Township Health Department in New Jersey.