How to Wash Your Hands and Not Spread Germs
Hand Washing Prevents the Spread of Infection and the H1N1 Flu
Nov 4, 2008
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than 164 million school days are lost every year due to illness.
In addition each year 76 million Americans get a food-borne illness from bacteria and viruses that they pick up from eating food. Nearly 5,000 people may die as a result of a getting a food-borne illness.
Many of these illnesses could have been avoided if adults, children and caretakers had done something as simple as wash their hands correctly.
Spreading Diseases by Hand to Hand Contact
All during the day people pick up germs on their hands from a different sources, such as direct contact with people, contaminated surfaces, foods, even animals and animal waste. People can infect themselves or others with these germs simply by touching the eyes, nose or mouth.
Germs can spread to other people by touching them or by touching surfaces that they also touch, such as doorknobs, refrigerator handles or the remote for the television.
Infectious diseases that are commonly spread through hand-to-hand contact include the common cold, flu and gastrointestinal disorders, such as infectious diarrhea.
People who are the most at risk to getting these infections include the very young, the very old, those who are hospitalized and those fighting diseases such as AIDS or cancer.
When to Wash Hands
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone should wash their hands:
- After going to the bathroom
- After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has gone to the bathroom
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
- After handling an animal or animal waste
- After handling garbage
- Before and after treating a cut or wound
- Before and after tending to someone who is sick
- Before preparing or eating food
How to Wash Hands
The following hand washing technique is the one recommended by the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
- Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
- Continue rubbing hands for 20 seconds. (This is the length of time needed to sing "Happy Birthday" twice or the "ABC's".)
- Rinse hands well under running water.
- Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer.
- If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet and to open up the door.
A More Extensive Hand Washing Technique
This is how a person would do a surgical scrub, except the time is longer.
- Roll up sleeves and wet hands with warm water.
- Using soap, not a hand sanitizer solution, work up a soapy lather that covers hands and forearms.
- Rub hands together for at least 20 seconds: make sure to wash palms, back of hands, between fingers, and forearms.
- Use a fingernail brush to clean under fingernails and between fingers.
- Rinse hands and forearms in warm water.
- Dry hands with single-use paper towels or cloth roller towel.
- Turn off the faucet with paper towels to prevent re-contamination of hands.
Washing hands is the single most important means of preventing the spread of infection. Check when you need to wash you hands, learn how to wash your hands and then always remember to wash your hands.
Resources:
Dyer KA. How to Cough and Not Spread Germs. Suite 101.
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