By BobbieJo Paul, FNP, Provider/Health Coach, ATI Active Care
Next week, December 7-13, is National Handwashing Awareness Week. While handwashing is something the majority of us feel we do well, many of us don’t spend as much as time washing as we should.
Hand washing plays a very important role in our health and is an important step to protecting ourselves from becoming sick. During a normal day we touch many surfaces and pick up all kinds of germs on our hands. All it takes to potentially get sick is touching a surface with cold or flu germs and rubbing our eyes or nose, or putting something in our mouth with unwashed hands.
The steps to hand washing are simple and should be followed every time:
- Wet your hands – It doesn’t matter if the water is hot or cold.
- Lather your hands with soap – Don’t forget that the soap needs to get between the fingers and on the backs of your hands. Do you wear rings? Pay attention to these areas that hide germs and lather them too.
- Scrub – Too many people rush this step; you need to scrub for at least 20 seconds. Remember the “Happy Birthday” song? Sing it to yourself twice to make sure you have scrubbed for enough time.
- Rinse – Clean hands with running water.
- Dry – Use a clean towel or air dry.
Make sure that you are washing your hands throughout the day and before/after these activities:
- Before you prepare food or eat.
- Before and after caring for a patient or a sick loved one.
- After using the toilet or changing a child’s diaper.
- After sneezing, coughing, or blowing your nose.
- The plan to sneeze into your elbow may not be the best because it is hard to clean. Some people cross their arms and then forget to wash their hands, making more likely to pass germs. It is ok to sneeze into your hands, just wash them after to stop the spread of illness.
- Anytime you may have touched a surface and you are going to touch your face.
Since the weather is cold and the air is dry, many people worry about cracked skin with washing hands frequently. It is still best to wash your hands. Waterless sanitizer only helps with some germs and should not be the only hand cleansing if your hands are visibly soiled. After washing your hands you can use a lotion or moisturizer to help reduce cracked skin.
Remember with proper handwashing you are protecting yourself and others from becoming ill.
For more information about hand washing you can go to www.cdc.gov/handwashing.