Fist Bumping Better For Health Than Handshakes

Fist bumping may be better for health than shaking hands or high-fiving, a new study claims.

The study from the Aberystwyth University reveal that fist bumping, a form of greeting popularized by US President Barack Obama, transmit fewer bacteria than other common forms of greeting like handshakes and high-fiving. Through fist bumping, people can lower the risk of contracting germs during a flu outbreak.

The researchers conducted a few trials to determine if alternative greetings would transmit fewer germs than the traditional handshakes. In the first trail, the greeter was made to immerse a sterile-gloved hand in a container full of germs. Once the glove was dry, the greeter was asked to exchange handshake, fist bump or high five with another recipient that wore a sterile-glove. The exchanges varied in duration and intensity of contact.

Once the greetings were exchanged, the researchers immersed the receiving gloves into a solution to count the number of bacteria that were transferred during the contact.

They noticed that when the greeter and recipient had a closer hand-to-hand contact during handshake, they transferred twice as many bacteria as compared to high-five, whereas during a fist bump significantly fewer bacteria were transferred.

In all the three forms of greeting, there was a strong association between longer duration of contact and stronger grips to increased bacterial transmission.

"Adoption of the fist bump as a greeting could substantially reduce the transmission of infectious diseases between individuals," said corresponding author David Whitworth, PhD. "It is unlikely that a no-contact greeting could supplant the handshake; 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."

It is reported that healthcare providers' hands can spread potentially harmful germs to patients, further leading to healthcare-associated infections (HAI, which is the leading cause of preventable harm and death in the United States).

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in every 25 hospitalized patients develops HAI and 75,000 patients with HAIs die during their hospitalization every year.

The finding was documented in the Journal of the American Medical Association.