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Wash Away the Germs
Did you know that one of the best ways to avoid getting sick is to wash your hands? Proper hand-washing is the best way to prevent illness at home, work, and school. It's simple, it's easy, and it works.
When should you wash your hands?
• Before preparing or eating food
• After going to the bathroom
• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has gone to the bathroom
• Before and after tending to someone who is sick
• 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
When washing hands with soap and water:
• 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. An easy way to make sure you've washed for 20 seconds is to sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice.
• 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.
If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based gel to clean hands.
When using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, apply product to the palm of one hand; rub hands together, and rub the product over all surfaces of hands and fingers until hands are dry.
And since children tend to spread germs more readily, it's important to teach them proper hand washing techniques. The more children wash their hands, the less likely they are to pick up germs that can make them sick.
Washing your hands is the best way to prevent catching - and reduce spreading - colds, the flu, skin infections, and digestive viruses.