Forget handshakes, fist bumps are much more hygienic according to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.
Researchers from the Institute of Biological, Environmental, and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University in the United Kingdom performed trials to determine whether alternative greetings such as fist bumps or high-fives would transmit fewer germs than a traditional handshake.
They found that high-fives transferred half as much bacteria as a handshake, and fist bumps transferred only a tenth. Scientists also found that the longer the contact and the stronger the grip, the more bacteria was transmitted.
"Adoption of the fist bump as a greeting could substantially reduce the transmission of infectious diseases between individuals," said author David Whitworth.
Whitworth and his student Sara Mela shook hands, fist-bumped and high-fived each other with one person wearing a glove covered in e. coli bacteria while the other wore a sterile glove. They measured the amount of bacteria transferred after each interaction.
This study comes after the Journal of the American Medical Association called to ban handshakes from the hospital environment in order to limit healthcare providers' hands potentially spreading harmful germs to patients.
Scientists, however, have mixed views about the story.
"From a medical and social view point, fist bumping is the way to go in exchanging social pleasantries while decreasing the transmission of bacteria and viruses, everything from common colds to MRSA can be transmitted by handshakes," said Dr. Sampson Davis, an emergency room physician at The Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in Secaucaus, N. J.
He said people touch a variety of surfaces with germs such as door knobs and hand rails throughout the day. The use of a fist bump is a quick interaction which could decrease transmission.
However, Dr. Len Horovitz, pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said the issue of germ transmission is that unwashed hands carry germs and when the recipient touches their face, they introduce the germs into the body.
"Hand bumping may not be better insurance against spreading infection," he said.
Whitworth said he doesn't think this would cause people to adopt no-contact greetings.
"It is unlikely that a no-contact greeting could supplant the handshake," he said. "However, for the sake of improving public health we encourage further adoption of the fist bump as a simple, free and more hygienic alternative to the handshake."
The fist bump has been popularized by figures such as President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama.
