Fist-Bumping Spreads Fewer Germs Than Handshakes or High-Fives

If you want to spread friendliness but not germs, a new study suggests that fist-bumping is the way to go.

According to the study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, fist-bumping spreads significantly fewer bacteria than either handshaking or high-fiving.

During the study, participants immersed a sterile-gloved hand into a container of germs. Once the glove was dry, they exchanged a handshake, fist-bump or high-five with another sterile-gloved participant. The receiving gloves were then immersed in a solution to count the number of bacteria transferred during contact.

The researchers found that handshakes transferred about twice as many bacteria than high-fives, and significantly fewer bacteria were transferred during fist-bumps than high-fives.

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