Your mother’s advice was right when she told you to wash your hands. She might have wanted you to get the dirt off them before dinner. But hand washing is also one of the most important ways to avoid the spread of germs that can cause viruses, colds and flu, as well as more serious illnesses such as infectious diarrhea, meningitis and hepatitis A. While hand washing can’t guarantee that you won’t get sick, making it part of your regular routine can cut your risk dramatically. And believe it or not, there is a right and a wrong way to wash your hands.
More than likely, your hands come in contact with hundreds of other hands every day. Open a door, press an elevator button, pay for a purchase by signing the credit card terminal at checkout or use a pump at a gas station and you may as well have shaken hands with all the people who touched those surfaces before you. If just one of those people were ill, or about to become ill, you might have transferred sick germs from their hand to yours. So, if you rub your eyes, touch your nose, bite your nail or eat something with your hands, you can transport those germs into your body. And once infectious viral or bacterial germs enter your body they sicken you by drawing from your healthy cells, using your nutrients and energy to survive. The cells then produce waste known as toxins, which cause symptoms such as coughing and sneezing, spreading microscopic droplets of those sick germs, and the cycle continues. Worse still, those sick germs can be transmitted before a person even knows they are sick, and for several days after they feel better. And some germs themselves can remain active on surfaces for up to 48 hours.
With germs so easily spread through contact with hands, it’s no wonder that doctors and experts recommend both frequent hand washing and awareness of what you are touching. It’s not realistic to wash every time you’ve touched something public. But, whenever possible, wash your hands:
Before
Touching, preparing or serving food
Setting the table
Eating or drinking
Putting in or taking out contact lenses
Treating a wound or coming in contact with open skin or blood
Caring for someone who is sick
Changing a diaper
After
Going to the bathroom
Helping someone else use the bathroom
Changing a diaper
Coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose
Handling uncooked food, especially meats, poultry, fish or produce
Handling garbage
Coming in contact with blood
Touching an animal
Handling pet food or pet waste
Caring for someone who is sick
Using public transportation or public surfaces
Rinsing your hands is not washing them. Even a quick splash with soap won’t get the job done. It takes at least 20 seconds of vigorous motion with soap in order to dislodge germs. To properly wash hands:
Wet hands then remove them from water
Apply soap and rub hands together to form a lather
Scrub palms, between fingers, backs of hands, wrists and under fingernails
Rinse well under running water
Turn off the faucet with a towel
Towel dry hands
A few more important details
The air dryers commonly found in public restrooms whirl live germs through the air and do not sufficiently dry hands. If paper towels are unavailable, consider bringing your own into the restroom with you. Wiping your hands on your clothing isn’t sanitary but it’s likely to be better than leaving with wet hands, which will go on to touch other surfaces. Likewise, using something like toilet tissue or your shirtsleeve to turn off the faucet or to hold the door handle to exit a public bathroom is better than direct contact.
Hot water at a temperature that would be tolerable to wash hands is still not hot enough to kill bacteria. Lukewarm water works just as well.
Antibacterial soaps were all the rage a few years ago. But studies have found that they actually lead to the development of bacteria that lowers the skin’s resistance to antibiotic and antimicrobial agents.
In circumstances where hand washing is impossible, hand-sanitizing products such as lotions, gels or wipes will kill germs, although they won’t actually remove dirt. Hand sanitizers must contain at least 60 percent alcohol in order to be effective. The amount used should be enough to thoroughly wet the hands, and the product should be rubbed in until it dries.
While these habits seem may time consuming, or need some getting used to, they’re well worth it to help prevent the epidemic of colds, flu and food-borne illnesses that spread from person to person every day.
