Largest Ever International Hygiene Study Reveals How Personality, Manners & Profession Can Affect Americans’ Health

LYSOL^® HABIT Study highlights importance of making good hygiene a priority this cold and flu season

PARSIPPANY, N.J., October 14, 2011 – October marks the start of this year’s cold and flu season.  It is important to note that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate 15-60 million Americans, or 5-20 percent of the U.S. population¹, will contract the flu this year.  Also according to the CDC, nearly 22 million schools days are lost each year to the common cold alone.² Realizing the role of good hygiene in helping to prevent the spread of germs, the Global Hygiene Council has issued data from the international LYSOL^® HABIT Study (Hygiene: Attitudes, Behavior, Insight and Traits) that shows certain personality traits, good manners and occupational status appear to have a beneficial effect on personal and household hygiene practices, as well as overall wellness.³

According to the study, 54 percent of people surveyed globally reported good personal hygiene.  Researchers uncovered several novel findings that influenced hygiene scores, including the following:

• Conscientious or nervous personality types reported experiencing 10 percent fewer colds than others.
• Those with good manners, such as covering their mouths when sneezing, were almost two-and-a-half times more likely to have good health. 
• Hygiene habits varied by profession, with homemakers reporting the highest level of personal hygiene (64.5 percent) and students reporting the worst (44.5 percent).³

“Results of this study should empower Americans to improve or maintain their personal and household hygiene in order to help break the chain of transmission,” said Professor John Oxford, Chairman of the Hygiene Council and Professor of Virology at St. Barts and The London School of Dentistry.  “The CDC urges all of us to practice certain health habits to help prevent the flu, including frequent hand-washing and cleaning and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces when someone in your household is sick.⁴

LYSOL^® supports CDC recommendations on flu prevention by offering a full range of products to help keep families healthy during flu season. The LYSOL^® Healthy Touch™ No-Touch Hand Soap System helps stop the spread of harmful germs by automatically sensing hands and dispensing antibacterial soap; and LYSOL^® Disinfectant Spray and Disinfecting Wipes kill bacteria and viruses on commonly touched surfaces.  In addition, LYSOL^® realizes the best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated, and LYSOL^® is proud to once again offer flu shot recipients a $5 rebate through its website by visiting http://www.lysol.com/healthy-families/cold-and-flu-prevention/flu-free-123.

The LYSOL^® HABIT study broke down hygiene practices by country in an effort to highlight where certain behaviors are more prevalent. While the U.S. reported high levels of frequent hand-washing (a personal hygiene habit), its rank for household hygiene fell into the bottom half against other countries.  Household hygiene scores were based on such factors as frequency of surface cleaning, tidiness and having an established house cleaning routine (see attached charts below).³

“Adopting good hygiene habits is a responsibility we all share.  It is important for families to integrate regular hygiene practices at home, school and work throughout the year to keep germs from spreading, especially during cold and flu season,” said Dr. Laura A Jana, board-certified pediatrician and award-winning parenting book author.

Percentage of respondents who wash hands 5+ times daily

Percentage with High Household Hygiene Score

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://pandemicflu.gov/individualfamily/about/seasonalflu
2. CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/germstopper/home_work_school.htm
3. Data on file at Reckitt Benckiser
4. CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm