This question has medical and social aspects. It kind of relates to my interest in network distribution of information and the thermodynamics of networks, since the spread of disease is among other things a network effect. The corona virus COVID-19 seems to be spreading around the world, and that raises this question.
Handshaking can spread disease. It is beneficial to inhibit spreading disease. So it follows that it would be beneficial to inhibit handshaking.
According to Wikepedia’s article, Handshake, the custom of handshaking goes back at least 2,500 years ago in Greece. That is a social factor since handshaking is a widespread and established social custom.
Things have changed in the past 2500 years however. World population and urbanization have greatly increased. Intrusion on wild habitats has increased increasing the possibility of introducing diseases novel to human populations. On the other hand, contemporary science has a theory of disease based on microscopic pathogens and prescribes levels of hygiene probably unfamiliar to societies of 2,500 years ago.
Alex Lickerman M.D. in a blog at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happiness-in-world/201202/don't-shake-hands said that for health’s sake people should not shake hands.
Alternatives to handshakes include fist and elbow bumps. Do you suggest others? [Added note March 16, 2020: Gary Slutkin, epidemiologist March 13, 2020: Even the “fist bump” and “elbow rub” puts two individuals in closer proximity than is optimal and I recommend we stop this entirely. ]
Dr. John Campbell who has posted videos with his views on the epidemiology of COVID-19, for example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C-NpadSNuA suggested suspending handshaking in public gatherings.
Your views?
Dear Dr.Robert,
There are possibilities of spreading the microbes through handshake greeting.We have done some work and isolated microbes from the skin of hands.
In order to greet somebody, you can adopt Namaste, a very old Indian culture to greet. You can also adopt the Japanese style of greeting. When I was living in Japan, I always followed their culture to greet the people. It is up to you to adopt any of the method to greet instead of hand shaking.
If you need any other assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me at my below cited email.
Prof.Dr.Mahendra Pal
Founder Director of Narayan Consultancy on Veterinary Public Health and Microbiology, Anand, India
Dear Dr.Robert,
There are possibilities of spreading the microbes through handshake greeting.We have done some work and isolated microbes from the skin of hands.
In order to greet somebody, you can adopt Namaste, a very old Indian culture to greet. You can also adopt the Japanese style of greeting. When I was living in Japan, I always followed their culture to greet the people. It is up to you to adopt any of the method to greet instead of hand shaking.
If you need any other assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me at my below cited email.
Prof.Dr.Mahendra Pal
Founder Director of Narayan Consultancy on Veterinary Public Health and Microbiology, Anand, India
Mahendra Pal above suggested Namaste and the Japanese style of greeting as alternatives, good suggestions both.
Today I learned from someone I met and asked about Namaste of an alternative also appealing. With right elbow bent, in greeting place the flat of your hand over your heart for moment. This seems , a kind of `heart felt’ greeting, and quite a good alternaitve. One may suppose that such a manner of greeting should be accompanied by a slight movement of the eyes or tipping of the head, so that the greeter’s manner of greeting is not mistaken for indicating that the greeter is having a bout of heartburn or some other malady.
Let's follow Joshua O. Ighalo setting of an example above in his advice above and encourage others to avoid handshakes.
Handshakes portrays a great communication impact and inclusion in social gatherings and man is a social being.
However, the epidemiological implications is fast out weighing the social importance. Change is the only constant thing . Its time to change.
Helpful from the CDC:
How COVID-19 Spreads (noted March 2, 2020):
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html
This is about something I read, which is actually a bad idea.
From Associated Press article printed in Globe and Mail March 2, 2020 page 2, Culture of friendly kissing poses a dilemma ... , in the concluding paragraph: During Milan Fashion Week, cheek kissing was dropped as the week went on .... in favour of ... a little double kiss to fingertips that one fashionista dubbed, “the new coronavirus kiss.”
The problem is: even without handshakes, one's own hands can have pathogens on them. My doctor told me, don't touch your face with your own hands either.
A youtube video demonstrating bowing in Japanese culture, which is used for greeting and other purposes is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytmdQC6OxPU
In the past 18 years there have been four epidemic viruses: 1) SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome 2002 - 2003; 2) Swine flue 2009; 3) Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV),[1] or EMC/2012 4) 2020 COVID-19.
In addition to these four epidemics in the past 18 years are seasonal influenza and colds.
In all of these diseases, is it not likely that spread of these diseases can be inhibited by ending, permanently, the unhygienic custom and culture of the handshake? Is humanity condemned by custom sanctioned by time to be agent,for some part of the spread of these diseases?
I propose another question different from the above: How can science spread a meme, `End Handshakes Forever, stop hands transmitting disease?’
Or something similar.
Possible alternatives for greeting, some or all of: 1) Japanese style, slight bow of head; 2) Namaste 3) fist or elbow bumps; 4) right hand over the heart, with a slight nod of the head;.
There are likely other possibilities. The Japanese custom of bowing has advantages of efficiency and being capable of implemented without hand gestures.
Other gestures that might involve bringing fingers or hands to the face (such as kissing your own fingers and/or throwing the kiss) are bad. The problem is: even without handshakes, one's own hands can have pathogens on them. My doctor told me, don't touch your face with your own hands either.
I agree that handshaking is no longer what it once was, as indicated in this excerpt from "What is the origin of the handshake?" by Evan Andrews:
"The handshake has existed in some form or another for thousands of years, but its origins are somewhat murky. One popular theory is that the gesture began as a way of conveying peaceful intentions. By extending their empty right hands, strangers could show that they were not holding weapons and bore no ill will toward one another. Some even suggest that the up-and-down motion of the handshake was supposed to dislodge any knives or daggers that might be hidden up a sleeve. Yet another explanation is that the handshake was a symbol of good faith when making an oath or promise. When they clasped hands, people showed that their word was a sacred bond. “An agreement can be expressed quickly and clearly in words,” the historian Walter Burkert once explained, “but is only made effective by a ritual gesture: open, weaponless hands stretched out toward one another, grasping each other in a mutual handshake.”
One of the earliest depictions of a handshake is found in a ninth century B.C. relief, which shows the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III pressing the flesh with a Babylonian ruler to seal an alliance. The epic poet Homer described handshakes several times in his “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” most often in relation to pledges and displays of trust. The gesture was also a recurring motif in the fourth and fifth century B.C. Greek funerary art. Gravestones would often depict the deceased person shaking hands with a member of their family, signifying either a final farewell or the eternal bond between the living and the dead. In ancient Rome, meanwhile, the handshake was often used as a symbol of friendship and loyalty. Pairs of clasped hands even appeared on Roman coins.
While the handshake had several meanings in the ancient world, its use as an everyday greeting is a more recent phenomenon. Some historians believe it was popularized by the 17th century Quakers, who viewed a simple handclasp as a more egalitarian alternative to bowing or tipping a hat. The greeting later became commonplace, and by the 1800s, etiquette manuals often included guidelines for the proper handshaking technique. As is often suggested today, the Victorian shake was supposed to be firm but not overly strong. One 1877 guide counseled its readers that, “a gentleman who rudely presses the hand offered him in salutation, or too violently shakes it, ought never to have an opportunity to repeat his offense.”
By Evan Andrews
Eric Ruguly, Globe and Mail, March 4, 2020:
The Italian government has ordered all schools and universities closed until at least March 15 and is preparing a series of draconian social measures, including a ban on shaking hands and attending soccer games, in an attempt to slow the rapid spread of COVID-19.
The Guardian on February 28, 2020:
Meanwhile, the threat of catching coronavirus has persuaded Newcastle to abandon a cherished morning ritual. Players have become accustomed to shaking hands with every teammate and member of the backroom staff each day as they assemble for training but the practice has been temporarily halted on medical advice.
Information below was forwarded to me by email on March 7, 2020. I don't know James Robb, but the information below seems helpful. The name of the person following the information below, James Robb, has a wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robb_(pathologist)
A site discussing the authenticity of the email is at: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/zinc-lozenges-coronavirus/
A DOCTOR ADVISES DOCTORS RE: THE CORONAVIRUS:
Date: February 26, 2020 at 2:35:50 PM EST
Subject: Advice from a former Professor of pathology at the University of California San Diego - What I am doing for the upcoming COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic
Dear Colleagues, as some of you may recall, when I was a professor of pathology at the University of California San Diego, I was one of the first molecular virologists in the world to work on coronaviruses (the 1970s). I was the first to demonstrate the number of genes the virus contained. Since then, I have kept up with the coronavirus field and its multiple clinical transfers into the human population (e.g., SARS, MERS), from different animal sources.
The current projections for its expansion in the US are only probable, due to continued insufficient worldwide data, but it is most likely to be widespread in the US by mid to late March and April.
Here is what I have done and the precautions that I take and will take. These are the same precautions I currently use during our influenza seasons, except for the mask and gloves.:
1) NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.
2) Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches. elevator buttons, etc.. Lift the gasoline dispenser with a paper towel or use a disposable glove.
3) Open doors with your closed fist or hip - do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.
4) Use disinfectant wipes at the stores when they are available, including wiping the handle and child seat in grocery carts.
5) Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.
6) Keep a bottle of sanitizer available at each of your home's entrances. AND in your car for use after getting gas or touching other contaminated objects when you can't immediately wash your hands.
7) If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!
What I have stocked in preparation for the pandemic spread to the US:
1) Latex or nitrile latex disposable gloves for use when going shopping, using the gasoline pump, and all other outside activity when you come in contact with contaminated areas.
Note: This virus is spread in large droplets by coughing and sneezing. This means that the air will not infect you! BUT all the surfaces where these droplets land are infectious for about a week on average - everything that is associated with infected people will be contaminated and potentially infectious. The virus is on surfaces and you will not be infected unless your unprotected face is directly coughed or sneezed upon. This virus only has cell receptors for lung cells (it only infects your lungs) The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose or mouth via your hands or an infected cough or sneeze onto or into your nose or mouth.
2) Stock up now with disposable surgical masks and use them to prevent you from touching your nose and/or mouth (We touch our nose/mouth 90X/day without knowing it!). This is the only way this virus can infect you - it is lung-specific. The mask will not prevent the virus in a direct sneeze from getting into your nose or mouth - it is only to keep you from touching your nose or mouth.
3) Stock up now with hand sanitizers and latex/nitrile gloves (get the appropriate sizes for your family). The hand sanitizers must be alcohol-based and greater than 60% alcohol to be effective.
4) Stock up now with zinc lozenges. These lozenges have been proven to be effective in blocking coronavirus (and most other viruses) from multiplying in your throat and nasopharynx. Use as directed several times each day when you begin to feel ANY "cold-like" symptoms beginning. It is best to lie down and let the lozenge dissolve in the back of your throat and nasopharynx. Cold-Eeze lozenges is one brand available, but there are other brands available.
I, as many others do, hope that this pandemic will be reasonably contained, BUT I personally do not think it will be. Humans have never seen this snake-associated virus before and have no internal defense against it. Tremendous worldwide efforts are being made to understand the molecular and clinical virology of this virus. Unbelievable molecular knowledge about the genomics, structure, and virulence of this virus has already been achieved. BUT, there will be NO drugs or vaccines available this year to protect us or limit the infection within us. Only symptomatic support is available.
I hope these personal thoughts will be helpful during this potentially catastrophic pandemic. You are welcome to share this email. Good luck to all of us!
Jim
James Robb, MD FCAP
Opinion piece February 27, 2020 by Dr. Jeremy Faust, link:
https://slate.com/technology/2020/02/coronavirus-silent-spread-actually-good-sign.html
Dear Dr
The viral infection is global, and people all around the world have become affected. In Iraq the government has closed all schools and universities until at least March 21st any aerosol or contact with the virus carrier is going to result in spreading the infection.
For greetings the Japanese style could be an alternative to handshaking or just by nodding your head as a greeting, also trending is a very nice type of a leg shake that you can see on the internet
.
Speaking to a friend recently he asked, can you catch COVID-19 twice? I have been wondering the same thing. That is a really important question. An article about COVID-19 in a health magazine, Stat, by Sharon Begley, suggests the answer for now is, not sure. If it turns out that no acquired immunity is possible, that would make an argument for, world-wide, ending handshaking, and universally replacing handshakes with non-contact greetings, even more compelling. And the same applies even if it is, sort of, eventually, to acquire some immunity.
I just read another suggested non-contact greeting: the `Spock' upheld single hand greeting (`live long and prosper') from the television series Star Trek.
A Science bulletin refers to an article about social distancing cited by the White House at a press briefing:
Article Pre-Emptive Low Cost Social Distancing and Enhanced Hygiene ...
Gary Slutkin, epidemiologist March 13, 2020
Even the “fist bump” and “elbow rub” puts two individuals in closer proximity than is optimal and I recommend we stop this entirely.
Gary Slutkin, epidemiologist, March 13, 2020:
Consider alternatively placing your hand to your heart and bowing your head in acknowledgement of an encounter with a fellow community member. It may feel awkward at first, but can help to maintain critical social distance while honoring the encounter. It might even feel good.
Currently, the recommended distance to be maintained when you meet and greet anybody else is six feet.
In Milan, Italy, 1 meter. And in subway, a rucksack thickness
It does not look effective.
https://images.agi.it/pictures/agi/agi/2020/03/16/153041665-3607b112-8c4e-4201-9914-412d7a271da3.jpg
Yes, because of the potentially high infectivity of Covid-19 Coronavirus, greetings should be made without a handshake. These are the recommendations of virologists, doctors, etc.
Best wishes.
Dariusz Prokopowicz
I prefer Namaste
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RDjO0ugwmCE/WiJTkqVBfzI/AAAAAAAAFv0/KlWFyeq3yqsJroDQ6AHtC5jCO8m1sJlYgCLcBGAs/s640/23755298_1681457071886559_1196759216815774656_n.jpg
Stopping the Spread of COVID-19 March 20, 2020, Angel N. Desai, Payal Patel
JAMA. Published online March 20, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.4269
Includes: “Avoid shaking hands when greeting others.”
There was one of my English lessons in college days. Lesson name is ‘On Shaking Hands’ by A. G. Gardiner. He speaks about the common western practice of greeting by
shaking hands. So ingrained is the habit in the western psyche that it appears to be the most natural and
instinctive way of greeting people. The custom, however, is not without its disadvantages and embarrassments. In the present corona environment, Indian way of greeting Namaste is most popular and healthy.
From now on,handshaking is inadmissible neither socially,nor medically.
A. G. Radyuk reply above.
Translated to English using Google:
Everyone should take seriously the recommendations of specialists.
There are reports that handshaking can spread Coronavirus infection. Therefore, I strongly recommend that Namastae, an Indian way of greeting, should be globally accepted for greeting.
A. G. Radyuk , I strongly agree with you when you say : "Надо всем серьезно отнестись к рекомендациям специалистов."
My English translation: "We should all take the opinions given by specialists very seriously."
Article in New York Times: When 511 Epidemiologists Expect to Fly, Hug and Do 18 Other Everyday Activities Again By Margot Sanger-Katz, Claire Cain Miller and Quoctrung Bui June 8, 2020
From the article:
“Real epidemiologists don't shake hands. ”T. Christopher Bond, Bristol Myers Squibb
“I prefer to greet people with a traditional greeting either with hands in a namaskar or in the Lozi tribe's traditional greeting of clapping hands together.” Ramya Kumar, Zambart Project
Scientific American, August 2020 issue, article by Steve Mirsky, page 76.
Hand Out. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that we don’t need handshakes.
- The article concludes: The time has come to say, “Look. No hands.”
What about a SciAm editorial to the same effect?
Nature 584, 22-25 (2020) doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02278-5
August 5, 2020
How the pandemic might play out in 2021 and beyond This coronavirus is here for the long haul — here’s what scientists predict for the next months and years.
From the article: "Early evidence suggests that personal behavioural changes, such as hand-washing and wearing masks, are persisting beyond strict lockdown, helping to stem the tide of infections."
Comment: Ending hand shaking would also be an advantageous behavioral change.
The question, Is it time to dispense with handshake greetings?, was posted on ResearchGate on February 27, 2020.
Some good ideas appear in replies above, for example, that of Mahendra Pal on February 28, 2020.
Since then several articles and websites have discussed the issue. Some are here listed:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Is_it_time_to_dispense_with_handshake_greetings
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200413-coronavirus-will-covid-19-end-the-handshake April 13, 2020
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/03/harvard-experts-weigh-in-on-the-fate-of-the-handshake/ March 30, 2020
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/new-normal-will-covid-19-mark-the-death-of-the-handshake-1.4895157 April 14, 2020
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/05/14/coronavirus-handshaking-alternatives-social-distancing-covid-19/5177513002/
(1) Goodbye handshake: How do we replace the ancient greeting if coronavirus keeps us from touching? May 14, 2020
https://theconversation.com/is-coronavirus-the-end-of-the-handshake-133185 March 12, 2020
(2) From the article: The coronavirus outbreak is causing people to rethink the handshake and seek other gestures that perform similar functions without touch. The news site India Today has advocated the replacement of the (western) handshake and cheek kiss in favour of a return to the traditional namaste greeting: a slight bow with hands pressed together. Besides noting its hygienic advantages, the article championed the desi (local to the Indian subcontinent) nature of this form.
The USA Today article is probably referring to the March 3, 2020 India Today article, Coronavirus scare: Say namaste. Ditch the handshake and hug, the link for which is: https://www.indiatoday.in/trending-news/story/coronavirus-scare-say-namaste-ditch-the-handshake-and-hug-1651912-2020-03-03
https://www.wired.com/story/the-coronavirus-could-put-an-end-to-handshakes/ March 7, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgtfxq7Dyn8
(1) CBC News July 7, 2020: Is the handshake over? 5 minutes 2 seconds.
https://www.facebook.com/thenational/videos/is-the-handshake-over/640719709865759/ CBC news July 8, 2020
https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/handshake-guide-2020 June 4, 2020
https://www.businessinsider.com/poll-what-handshakes-should-be-replaced-with-2020-4 April 27, 2020
(1) POLL: Most Americans want to permanently ditch the handshake after the coronavirus. Here's what they think it should be replaced with.
(2) From the article: More than half of Americans surveyed in a new Business Insider/Survey Monkey poll said the handshake should disappear permanently after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
A website that prescribes teaching children 4 ways to limit disease transmission from hands:
https://henrythehand.com/
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