“Hand hygiene” is a very popular term you listen to nowadays. It’s due to the COVID-19 pandemic that people all across the globe & especially in India are becoming aware about it. But hand hygiene importance is no new. It’s a very much essential practice that must be included in our routines.
Hand hygiene helps in destroying microbes like bacteria, viruses & others. Practices like washing hands or using sanitizer though never completely kills off all the germs but definitely lower their number & restrict their transmission.
The importance of hand hygiene lies in the fact that we keep on touching people, surfaces and objects throughout the day, you accumulate germs on your hands.You can infect yourself with these germs by touching your eyes, nose or mouth, or spreading them to others.When you touch yourself with your hands, you are getting yourself prone to many infections & thus you might fell sick.
When is it most important to wash hands
However it is very important to wash your hands at regular intervals throughout the day but there are times when it is really significant to wash hands, like-
Wash your hands before:
- Cooking food or eating meals
- Treating wounds
- Taking care for a sick person
- Inserting or removing contact lenses
Wash your hands after:
- Cooking food
- Using the toilet
- Changing a diaper or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
- Touching an animal, animal feed or animal waste
- Coughing or sneezing, blowing your nose,
- Treating wounds or caring for a sick person
- Handling garbage
Additionally, wash your hands when they are visibly dirty.
How to wash hands properly?
The best way to wash hands is to use soap & water. It can be said that using antibacterial soaps instead of normal soaps can work better in keeping your hands clean.
Follow these simple steps:
- Wet your hands with clean, running water — either warm or cold.
- Apply soap and lather well.
- Rub your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds. Remember to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
- Rinse well.
- Dry your hands with a clean towel or air-dry them.
Is sanitizer a better option?
Sanitizer should be used in absence of soap & water. If you are using a sanitizer, it should be 60% alcohol based.
The process of using a sanitizer is simple, it should be applied to the gel on your hands. The gel should be rubbed appropriately all over the hands.
Benefits of maintaining Hand Hygiene
- Hand hygiene can help you in keeping away from many infections & diseases.
- Hand Hygiene also includes the practice of not touching your face, nose or any other openings of your body.
- Hand hygiene can help you prevent against many disease like Coronavirus, which are new to world & do not have any medication.<