Friday, September 20, 2013

In praise of the fist bump

A new paper in the Journal of Hospital Infection piqued my interest. It's a study about the fist bump. The investigators did an analysis of surface area and duration of contact comparing the handshake to the fist bump. They found that the surface area of the palm is about 4 times larger than that of the fist, and the handshake lasts 3 times longer than the fist bump. Like social distancing, cough etiquette, and bare below the elbows, the fist bump may be another simple behavior that could have the ability to reduce transmission of infection. It's worth exploring.

Photo: In These Times
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2 comments:

  1. Eli PerencevichSeptember 20, 2013 at 3:21 PM

    Another instance of the President leading the way in public health...

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/09/fox-anchor-calls-obama-fi_n_106027.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kirk HuslageSeptember 23, 2013 at 7:48 AM

    I personally prefer the forearm bump a la the Bash Brothers (Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco) from the 1987 Oakland As.... completely hands free.
    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/406822-baseballs-bash-brothers-top-home-run-hitting-teammates-since-1987

    ReplyDelete

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