Editing Handshake (section)

== Germ spreading ==
[[File:Do Not Shake.svg|thumb|180px|left|Do not handshake sign]]
Handshakes are known to spread a number of [[microbial]] [[pathogen]]s. Certain diseases such as [[scabies]] are known to spread most frequently through direct skin-to-skin contact. A medical study has found that [[fist bumps]] and [[high five]]s spread fewer [[pathogen|germs]] than handshakes.<ref name="germ-latimes" /><ref name="germ-abcnews"/> During the [[2009 H1N1 pandemic]], the dean of medicine at the [[University of Calgary]], Tom Feasby, suggested that fist bumps may be a "nice replacement of the handshake" in an effort to prevent transmission of the virus.<ref name="germ-cbc"/>

Following a 2010 study that showed that only about 40% of doctors and other health care providers complied with [[hand hygiene]] rules in hospitals, Mark Sklansky, a doctor at [[UCLA]] hospital, decided to test "a handshake-free zone" as a method for limiting the spread of germs and reducing the [[transmission of disease]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/880856|title=Handshake-Free Zone: Stopping the Spread of Germs in the Hospital|website=Medscape}}</ref> UCLA did not ban the handshakes outright, but rather suggested other options such as fist bumping, smiling, bowing, waving, and non-contact ''[[Namaste]]'' gestures. Other sources suggest raised brows, [[w:Thai greeting|wai bow]], two claps, hand over heart, [[w:American Sign Language|sign language]] wave, or the [[w:shaka sign|shaka]] sign.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-04-17 |title=Stop shaking hands. Do this instead |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/handshake-alternatives-gestures-around-world-trnd/index.html |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], several countries and organisations adopted policies encouraging people to use alternative modes of greeting instead of a handshake.<ref>BBC News, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-51820520/coronavirus-dutch-pm-tells-nation-not-to-shake-hands-then-does Coronavirus: Dutch PM tells nation not to shake hands – then does], published 10 March 2020, accessed 14 March 2020</ref> Suggested alternatives included the [[elbow bump]], the fist bump, foot tapping<ref>BBC News, [https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-china-51726440/coronavirus-the-wuhan-shake-or-the-elbow-bump Coronavirus: The 'Wuhan shake' or the elbow bump?], published 3 March 2020, accessed 17 May 2020</ref> or non-contact actions for [[social distancing]] purposes, such as [[fist-and-palm]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://trafo.hypotheses.org/26546 |title=Social Distance, Hygiene and the Handshake: a Chinese Perspective |first=Barbara |last=Mittler |date=26 February 2021 |doi=10.58079/uszm }}</ref> or [[namaste]] gesture.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/12/814076913/nice-to-meet-you-but-how-to-greet-you-nohandshake-leaves-businesspeople-hanging|title=Nice To Meet You, But How To Greet You? #NoHandshake Leaves Businesspeople Hanging|last=Noguchi|first=Yuki|date=12 March 2020|work=NPR|access-date=16 March 2020}}</ref> Footshaking was also suggested.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Raymond |first1=Adam K. |title=Public Health Experts: Try 'Footshake' Instead of Handshake to Avoid Coronavirus |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/public-health-experts-try-footshake-instead-of-handshake.html |website=Intelligencer |access-date=25 January 2021 |language=en-us |date=2 March 2020}}</ref>