One of the best ways to avoid getting sick and infecting your family is to wash your hands frequently. Washing your hands frequently is crucial, according to the CDC, to halt the spread of COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2. You should wash your hands according to these instructions if you want to achieve the best results.
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The Spread Of Germs
You can maintain your health and stop the spread of respiratory and diarrheal infections by washing your hands frequently. Germs can spread from person to person or from surfaces to people when you:
- Touch your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
- Prepare or eat food and drinks with unwashed hands
- Touch surfaces or objects that have germs on them
- Blow your nose, cough, or sneeze into hands and then touch other people’s hands or common objects
How Should You Wash Your Hands?
Below is the seven-step handwashing technique endorsed by the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO):
- Clean, preferably running water should be used to wet your hands.
- Your hands and wrists should be completely covered in soap.
- Your hands should be thoroughly and quickly lathered. Be sure to scrub your hands thoroughly, including the wrists, fingertips, and fingernails.
- Spend at least 20 seconds cleaning your hands and wrists.
- Rinse your wrists and hands in clean water, preferably running water.
- Use a fresh towel to dry your hands and wrists, or let them air dry.
- To turn off the faucet, use a towel.
Getting every surface and area of your hands, fingers, and wrists clean is essential when washing your hands.
Here are more detailed handwashing steps recommended from the WHOTrusted Source. After washing your hands with soap and water, proceed to follow them. You can rinse and dry your hands after completing these steps.
When Should You Wash Your Hands?
Throughout the day, there are specific times when you should wash your hands. Some of them may stand out more than others, but they all serve as helpful reminders to prioritize handwashing throughout your busy day. The crucial times to wash your hands are listed here.
- Before, during, and after preparing food
- Before and after eating
- After using the restroom
- After helping a child use the restroom
- Before and after changing a diaper
- When treating a cut or wound
- After blowing your nose, sneezing, or coughing
- Before, during, and after caring for someone who is sick
- After interacting with an animal, animal food or waste (including pet food and treats)
- After handling garbage
- After touching “high touch points” in public settings, like doorknobs, elevator buttons, touchscreens, etc…
Further Handwashing Guidelines
These extra suggestions will help you get the most out of every wash now that you know the general steps for handwashing in the right order.
Choosing Your Soap
Despite the fact that liquid and foaming soaps are more common when you’re out in public, all three types of soaps are equally useful. Surprisingly, the FDA rejects the notion that antibacterial soap is necessary to complete the task, despite extensive public relations efforts to the contrary.
Best Water Temperature
While the temperature of the water has little to do with the effectiveness of handwashing in terms of eradicating germs, warm water tends to produce a better lather than cold water. Simply use the water temperature that you find most comfortable to ensure that you are washing for the recommended time.
Avoiding Immediate Recontamination
One of the most popular surfaces that is vulnerable to germ transmission is the sink faucet handle. Since the soap is made to kill germs, it doesn’t really matter when your hands are clean. Touching the faucet after rinsing off the soap is the issue. For this reason, it’s crucial to turn off the tap using a paper towel, then discard the towel.
Safe And Effective Drying
Always dry your hands with a brand-new paper towel, and then throw it away right away. It’s best to stay away from those hot air dryers, claims Harvard University, as they have a tendency to spread microbes. Additionally, they emphasize the significance of hand drying, saying that not doing so can result in bacteria on your hands being able to survive.
Use Hand Sanitizer When You Can’t Use Soap And Water
In most cases, the best way to eliminate germs is to wash your hands with soap and water. If soap and water are not readily available, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that has at least 60% alcohol in it. By reading the product label, you can determine whether the hand sanitizer contains at least 60% alcohol.
In a lot of circumstances, hand sanitizers can quickly lower the amount of bacteria on hands. However,
- Not all types of germs are eliminated by sanitizers.
- When hands are obviously dirty or greasy, hand sanitizers might not be as effective.
- Heavy metals and pesticides may remain on hands after using hand sanitizers.
How Should I Use Hand Sanitizer?
- Use the recommended amount of gel by reading the label before applying it to the palm of one hand.
- your hands collectively.
- As soon as your hands are dry, rub the gel into all of the surfaces of your hands and fingers. About 20 seconds ought to pass during this.
How Can Dry Or Damaged Skin Be Avoided?
Frequent handwashing can cause raw, dry skin that is irritated and vulnerable to infection. Skin damage can alter the flora on your skin. As a result, germs may find it simpler to survive on your hands.
To keep your skin healthy while maintaining good hand hygiene, skin experts suggest the following tips:
- Use moisturizing soap and stay away from hot water. Use cool or warm water to wash. Warm water is just as effective as hot water, and hot water has a tendency to be more drying. Select creamy-textured liquid soaps with humectant ingredients like glycerin over bar soaps with a more rigid consistency.
- Apply moisturizers to the skin. Look for skin creams, ointments, and balms that help prevent water loss from your skin. These include moisturizers with ingredients that are:
- occlusive, such as lanolin acid, caprylic/capric triglycerides, mineral oil, or squalene
- humectants, such as lactate, glycerin, or honey
- emollients, such as aloe vera, dimethicone, or isopropyl myristate
- Use hand sanitizers with alcohol that also have skin conditioners in them. In addition to reducing skin dryness, alcohol-based hand sanitizers with humectants also replenish some of the water that alcohol has removed from the skin.
The Bottom Line
Hand washing is an easy, inexpensive, and evidence-based intervention that can help safeguard both your health and the health of others.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and community leaders from all over the world have urged concerted efforts to advance public hygiene behaviors like handwashing.
It is not difficult to wash your hands, but for the best results, it is important to follow the right steps in order. A safe and healthy environment depends on people washing their hands properly and at the appropriate times throughout the day.
