This article claims that you should wash your hands, for two reasons: Yes, washing hands works

It's based on interviewing experts, not based on studies:

I took these objections to three experts: Stephen Luby, a researcher with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Judy Daly, a Salt Lake City microbiologist and spokeswoman for the American Society for Microbiology; and Susie Craig, a food-safety and hand-washing educator with the Washington State University Extension Service.

 

Here's what they said on the key issues:

 

Why should men wash their hands after every restroom use?

 

"I've heard men say that it's nothing but Victorian prudery" to ask them to wash after urinating, Luby says. "And we cannot show them studies" that prove doing so will protect them or others from illness.

The two reasons given are as follows:

But the experts still recommend washing, for two reasons.

 

Reason one: You may pick up more germs than you think, from doors, flush handles and other surfaces, and from your own body. "Your gastrointestinal tract is close by," Daly says. "It all fits together, and you can't see where the microorganisms are."

 

Reason two: The restroom, stocked with sinks, soap and water, is a convenient place to wash off bacteria and viruses your hands accumulate elsewhere during the day. Studies do show groups of people who wash their hands regularly get fewer gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses.

This article claims that you should wash your hands, for two reasons: Yes, washing hands works

It's based on interviewing experts, not based on studies:

I took these objections to three experts: Stephen Luby, a researcher with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Judy Daly, a Salt Lake City microbiologist and spokeswoman for the American Society for Microbiology; and Susie Craig, a food-safety and hand-washing educator with the Washington State University Extension Service.

Here's what they said on the key issues:

Why should men wash their hands after every restroom use?

"I've heard men say that it's nothing but Victorian prudery" to ask them to wash after urinating, Luby says. "And we cannot show them studies" that prove doing so will protect them or others from illness.

The two reasons given are as follows:

But the experts still recommend washing, for two reasons.

Reason one: You may pick up more germs than you think, from doors, flush handles and other surfaces, and from your own body. "Your gastrointestinal tract is close by," Daly says. "It all fits together, and you can't see where the microorganisms are."

Reason two: The restroom, stocked with sinks, soap and water, is a convenient place to wash off bacteria and viruses your hands accumulate elsewhere during the day. Studies do show groups of people who wash their hands regularly get fewer gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses.