Wash away the cold and flu
How many times have you washed your hands today?
The simple act of washing your hands is the single most effective way to keep from catching a cold or spreading one to someone else.
It is a fundamental method to keeping well and yet, we don’t wash our hands as often as we think.
Some statistics may surprise you.
Up to half of all men and a quarter of women fail to wash their hands after they use the bathroom.
The importance of hand washing is underlined when you consider that
almost 22 million school days are lost annually due to the common cold. A study out of Detroit found that school children who washed their hands four times a day had 24% fewer sick days due to respiratory illness, and 51% fewer days lost because of stomach upset.
In fact hand washing with soap can reduce the incidence of acute respiratory infections by around 23 per cent.
So what is the proper way to wash your hands?
Remove jewellery and wet hands and wrists with warm water.
Jewellery hides bacteria and viruses from the mechanical action of the washing/rubbing
.
Use one or two squirts of liquid or foam soap,
use enough soap to build a good lather. Soap acts as an emulsifier trapping dirt and bacteria. Wash in between and around fingers. These are common places bacteria hide.
Scrub the back of each hand with the palm of the other hand.
Wash fingertips of each hand in the opposite palm. Pay special attention to fingernails.
Artificial nails, nail enhancements or long (>3-4mm) nails trap bacteria.
Always remove nail polish when it is chipped because bacteria may become trapped along the edges of the polish.
Scrub each thumb clasped in the opposite hand.
Wash each wrist clasped in the opposite hand.
Right Handed people tend to wash their left hand more thoroughly than their right, and visa versa.
Make sure to rub hands together vigorously, since creating friction loosens pathogens.
Hands should be washed for about 20 seconds or about the amount of time it takes to sing, “Happy Birthday” song twice
.
Rinse soap off hands in warm running water and d
ry hands on a paper towel.
Turn off the faucet with the used paper towel to avoid recontamination of hands.
Careful hand washing done properly can be a useful tool in the fight against cold and flu.
Now give yourself a hand for a job well done!
Category: Uncategorized