FP Announces YouTube Video Contest to Spread 'Do Not Touch the T-Zone' Message

With all the influenza and other illnesses circulating this holiday season, the folks who brought you Henry the Hand are launching a new initiative called "Do Not Touch the T-Zone" -- just in time for National Handwashing Awareness Week, Dec. 6-12.

FP William Sawyer, M.D., of Cincinnati, is the brains behind Henry the Hand, a character created to engage schoolchildren in spreading the word among their peers about the importance of washing their hands for infection control.

The Henry the Hand program emphasizes the four principles of hand awareness:

It is the last principle that forms the basis of the Do Not Touch the T-Zone campaign, which Sawyer emphasized in a YouTube video in which he announces a contest to create and upload a video to YouTube that helps spread the word about not touching the areas of the face that form the T-zone: eyes, nose and mouth.

Also available on the Henry the Hand Web site are downloadable four-color posters in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Fijian that feature the four principles of hand awareness and highlight the Do Not Touch the T-Zone message.

According to a media statement from Sawyer, "hand washing is important for infection prevention, but it is not as important as 'Do not put your fingers in your eyes, nose or mouth (T-zone) for your personal health.'" He also notes that doctors need to pay more attention to and educate their patients about not touching the T-zone.