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Hand Washing is Among Best Preventive Measures

One of the best ways to defend yourself and others against illness is frequent hand washing. It’s impossible to avoid coming in contact with germs. However, washing your hands frequently – and – correctly can help limit those bacteria, viruses and other harmful microbes from entering your body through your nose or mouth. While it seems like a simple thing, hand washing is something not everyone takes enough time to do correctly. For effective hand washing, thoroughly wet your hands with running water, apply soap (liquid or bar works the same), lather well and continue to rub your hands together vigorously for at least 30 seconds. To teach children, it’s useful to tell them to wash hands for as long as it takes to sing “Row, row, row your boat.” Make sure to clean all surfaces: palms, backs, between fingers and under the nails. Rinse well and dry.

Soap and water work best for frequent washing and it’s not necessary to use antibacterial soap. It’s no more effective at killing germs than regular soap and may actually lead to the development of bacteria that are harder to kill in the future. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers (those that don’t require water) are a good alternative when you can’t get to soap and water.  It's important to look at the active ingredients on the label to make sure it is at least 62 percent alcohol. Many sanitizers packaged for kids or in travel-handy bottles have a nice smell and packaging but don't contain enough alcohol. Apply enough of the sanitizer to wet your hands completely. Rub your hands together vigorously, covering all surfaces, until they’re dry.

While antimicrobial wipes or towelettes are not as effective as the alcohol-based sanitizers, they are another good option when you can’t get to a sink and don’t have liquid sanitizer with you.

In addition to washing your hands before preparing food or eating, also wash them when you’ve returned home from a public place, are about to treat a wound, come into contact with a sick person, feed someone or give medicine. Wash your hands after preparing raw foods such as meat, poultry or eggs; touching or cleaning up after an animal or touching the animal’s toys or bedding; using a tissue; handling garbage or something that can be contaminated with germs or waste (diapers, raw food); using the bathroom; or whenever they look dirty.

Also, when it comes to covering your sneeze or cough, use a tissue or your elbow, not your hand, to avoid spreading germs to the surfaces you touch after covering.