This article claims that you should wash your hands, for two reasons: [Yes, washing hands works](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/painter/2007-11-04-yourhealth_N.htm) 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.