In transmission of soil transmitted helminths, especially with Ascaris and Trichuris infections, the importance of hands is unclear and very limited literature exists. This is partly because of the absence of a reliable method to quantify the number of helminth eggs on hands. The aim of this study was to develop a method to assess the number of Ascaris eggs on hands and determine the egg recovery rate of the method. Under laboratory conditions, hands were contaminated with app. 1000 Ascaris eggs, air dried and washed in a plastic bag retaining the washing water, in order to determine recovery rates of eggs for two different detergents (cationic [benzethonium chloride 0.1%], anionic [7X 1% - quadrafos, glycol ether, and dioctyl sulfoccinate sodium salt]) and de-ionized water used as control. The highest recovery rate (95.6%) was achieved with a hand rinse performed with 7X 1%. Washing hands with benzethonium chloride 0.1% and de-ionized water resulted in an egg recovery rate of 88.2 % and 82.7%, respectively. This washing method performed with a low concentration of detergent offers potential for quantitative investigation of contamination of hands with Ascaris eggs and of their role in human infection.