In the following article we will talk about how to wash your hands properly and we will look at 12 small tips to follow for proper hygiene.
Proper hand washing is like a self-administered vaccine, as this ordinary hygiene ritual significantly reduces the risk of spreading disease.
Regular hand cleaning is one of the most effective ways to keep out pathogens, which can easily reach the body through the mouth or respiratory tract. Hygiene itself constitutes a first contact barrier against the spread of any virus or bacteria.
Why is hand washing so important?
In essence, clean hands are an essential condition for disease prevention. Hands are used to reach all objects in the environment, making them the fastest way through which infectious germs reach the body. According to the World Health Organization clean hands can keep away more than 200 diseases.
Keeping our hands clean can keep more than 200 diseases away from us.
Some of the most common conditions caused by inadequate hand washing are flu and colds, hepatitis A, bronsiolitis, meningitis, parasites, and acute diarrheal illnesses. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They inform the population that frequent hand washing with soap and water can reduce the number of deaths from diarrheal diseases by up to 40%.
Germs can live on the surface of surrounding objects for a long time and, once they reach the hands, they can be transferred by touching the eyes, nose or mouth with contaminated palms.
Most pathogens exist in bathrooms (especially toilets), computer keyboards, cell phones, remote control of household appliances, wet towels in the kitchen and bathroom, wallets or purses.
The following 12 recommendations will help you wash your hands properly and maintain your health.
When is it necessary to wash hands?
As we will see below, before any activity that involves touching and handling objects with the potential for contamination, we should wash our hands immediately.
- Before, during and after food preparation
- Before lunch
- Before and after the care of a sick person
- After using the bathroom
- Before and after wound treatment
- After changing an infant's diaper or assisting a child in the bathroom
- After blowing nose, coughing or sneezing
- After touching, feeding or cleaning an animal
- After handling household garbage or cleaning the house
- Immediately after returning home
- After using the keypad, cell phone or other electronic devices and accessories
- Every time the hands become visibly dirty
Gardening will expose you to bacteria and parasites, even when wearing gloves. Therefore, complete the washing period after completing this type of activity.
How to wash hands properly
Although it may seem like a trivial act, scientists at Michigan State University discovered in a study that only 5% of the participants know how to wash their hands properly. A third of them often forgot to use soap and 10% of the subjects did not wash after using the cupboard. The research was conducted on a sample of 3,749 people.
The time you have to spend washing your hands is at least 15 to 20 seconds.
The best way to wash your hands is to use plenty of soap and water, insisting on the portions between the fingers and cleaning the area under the nails. Occasionally, you can even use a soft brush to remove as much dirt as possible between the nails and the skin.
Wet your hands with water, apply soap to the entire surface of your palm, then bring your hands together and make circular motions. Continue placing the right palm on the outside of the left palm and vice versa. Replace the palms with the inner sides together and the fingers intercalated.
Hold the thumb of the left hand with the right palm and rotate and vice versa. Bend the fingers with the right hand and rub the left palm back and forth, then repeat the movement with the other hand. Wash your wrists carefully.
The time you have to spend washing your hands is at least 15-20 seconds.. At the end, rinse well and dry your hands with a clean towel or paper towel.
You can use hot and cold water for good palm hygiene.. Hot water is not recommended, as you will spend less time washing, due to discomfort (and the high temperature can over-dry the skin).
You can use either hot or cold water for good hand hygiene.
Specialists say that any type of soap is effective in removing bacteria from the surface of the palm of your hands, as long as you use a lot of suds and the process does not end after 1 or 2 seconds. If you don't have soap and water on hand, use a hydroalcoholic antibacterial gel with at least 60% of alcohol (use this solution occasionally, as it is not as effective as conventional washing).
In short, if we carry out proper hand hygiene, we will be prevented from any infectious disease or bacteria that may enter our body in this way.
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