Wash Your Hands to Wash Away Germs

Wash Your Hands Several Times a Day

​Eating nutritious foods and doing exercise are not good enough to live disease-free. You also need to follow hygienic practices to stay healthy. Handwashing is the first and foremost hygiene technique to be followed before preparing food or doing any kind of activity. It is simple, quick, effective and prevents us from becoming victims to germs.

When do you Wash your Hands?
We use our hands often during the day and it is practically impossible to keep them germ-free. But at least, we can try to keep our hands as clean as possible to restrict bacteria prevalence. Take care to wash your hands:

• Before, during and after food preparation, especially raw meat or poultry
• Before and after eating food
• After using the toilet
• After changing your baby’s diaper or cleaning a child’s bottom
• After sneezing, blowing your nose, coughing or treating wounds
• After touching garbage
  
  

How to Wash your Hands
You may find it silly discussing about an everyday practice that each one of us is familiar with. But, do all of us take care and wash our hands perfectly rubbing them between finger joints and taking the pain to use a disinfectant every time? The answer is definitely a ‘no’.  So, what does a proper hand wash involve: Wet, lathe, scrub, rinse and dry.

Wet your hands with running water (hot or cold). Lathe your hands with soap after closing the tap. Lathe well on both sides of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails. Scrub these parts for at least 20 seconds (just count from one to twenty). Rinse your hands thoroughly starting from the wrist to the fingertips to prevent germs from reentering your hands. Dry your hands with a towel (paper or cloth) or an air dryer.
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Even young children should be taught this five-step hand washing technique. An ideal way to make children wash their hands for 20 seconds is to make them sing the ‘Happy birthday’ song twice. If your kid is unable to reach the wash basin on her/his own, surprise him/her with a colorful stool onto which they can climb over to reach the sink.

Alcohol-based sanitizers, that contain at least 60% alcohol, are the best options when there is no soap and water available right then. All you need to do is take a small quantity of the sanitizer and rub your hands together, spreading the product until your hands are dry.

Insist on Washing Hands Whenever Possible
Promote the advantages of hand washing to your children and ask them to wash their hands several times a day and not just before and after a meal. If your child is using an alcohol-based sanitizer, be sure to stay besides your child to ensure that the sanitizer completely dries before touching anything.  
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Though a simple habit, you can reap the great reward of preventing illness and protecting health when you follow proper hand washing techniques. If you are further interested in uplifting your nutrition quotient for a healthy life, get in touch with a dietitian/nutritionist at www.firsteatright.com.