Men are less likely than women to wash their hands, according to a public health body.

Public Health Wales said that one in five men in the country don’t wash their hands after going to the toilet.

A survey conducted on behalf of the organisation also found men were more likely than women to report washing their hands for less than 20 seconds.

Only around half of Welsh adults said they always or often washed their hands after sneezing or blowing their nose, the survey showed.

The YouGov survey asked a representative sample of over a thousands adults in Wales to respond to questions about hand hygiene.

Only 41% of men and half of women surveyed thought it was necessary to wash their hands after returning from a public place.

After meeting people outside their household, 38% of men and 43% of women thought it was necessary to wash their hands.

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Ahead of the winter period, public health experts are hoping to raise awareness of the importance of hand hygiene.

They say good hand washing is one of the most effective steps to reduce the spread of infections.

The advice from Public Health Wales is to wash hands for at least 30 seconds with soap and water at key points during the day to reduce the risk of spreading germs.

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Dr Giri Shankar, director of health protection for Public Health Wales, said it was “important to continue the good hygiene practices” learned during the COVID pandemic.

“No-one likes to be ill, especially during the festive season,” he said.

“Taking a few simple steps to protect yourself and your loved ones against infection can really make all the difference and increase your chances of staying well this winter.”

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