Wash Your Hands!

Really, just washing your hands properly can halt the spread of many illnesses. Unfortunately, far too many people do not wash hands. And even more unfortunately, we have to use the same doorknobs as they do, and sometimes we also have to shake hands with them. So even if we are meticulous about washing our hands, we have to do it well and frequently for the best protection.

We've all seen those people leaving public bathrooms without washing at all, or children who try to get away with a quick rinse. Statistically, only sixty percent of women and less than forty percent of men wash their hands after using a public bathroom. Disturbing, isn't it? Sadly, we can't really do anything about it. At least, not safely in a society where a whole lot of people are absolutely bonkers.

But we can wash our own hands properly, and we can teach our children exactly how to do it and why. There are five steps:

• Wet hands with clean, warm (it's more comfortable), running water, and then turn off the tap. Having running water makes you rush because you don't want to waste water. 
• Lather hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to cover the hands, wrists, between the fingers and under the nails--especially under the nails. The undersides of fingernails are like miniature Petri dishes perfect for breeding microbes. Keeping nails trimmed and using a nail brush will automatically eliminate a lot of opportunities for infection. (Side note: Artificial nails of any kind can harbor all sorts of microbes. Keeping with the natural look is safest. And cheaper and easier, too.)
• Scrub hands vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Teach children to sing "Happy Birthday" slowly, all the way through, twice, making sure all the while that they wash between their fingers, the knuckles, and under the nails.  
• Then rinse well under running water. Rinsing in standing water risks recontaminating your hands. Use a paper towel to turn off the faucet.
• Finally, dry the hands using a clean towel or an air dryer. Also, use the paper towel (or the hem of your shirt) to open the bathroom door to avoid recontaminating your hands. 

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention lists when hands should be washed:

• Before and after preparing food
• Before and after eating
• Before and after caring for anyone who is sick
• Before and after treating any injury or changing bandages
• Before touching your face, especially the eyes, nose, or mouth 
• After returning home
• After using the toilet or helping a child use the toilet
• After changing a diaper
• After blowing your nose, or coughing or sneezing into your hands
• After touching any animal, including pets, animal waste, or animal feed
• After handling garbage or taking out the trash
• After touching any surfaces in an ill person's room

Washing hands thoroughly and every single time it is called for will dramatically reduce the spread of contagious disease.  

Links to related posts:

Quarantine

Isolation

Cleaning and Disinfecting

Sterilizing 

For further reading:

https://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/providers/guideline.html

https://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/patients/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/science/index.html