Handwashing: A cheap and easy way to prevent many infections

‘Hygiene’ is commonly understood as preventing infection through cleanliness. Keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Washing hands is the most common example of hygienic behaviour. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean water.

Hand washing is very important from hygienic point of view. It is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of many communicable diseases. We can catch germs when we touch contaminated objects. We cannot see these germs by our naked eyes. So, hands may carry germs even when they are apparently clean. Subsequently when we touch food, mouth, eyes, nose, etc. we may get the infection.

We can spread the germs to other people casually by touching another person. Common germs that can be transmitted by contaminated hands are Hepatitis A, common cold virus, influenza virus, E coli bacteria, germs for diarrhoeal diseases, food poisoning, dysentery and typhoid fever, helminths, etc. Through the practice of proper hand washing, diarrhoeal diseases, which are very common in our country, can be reduced to a great extent and thus more lives can be saved. In the healthcare setting, hand washing can prevent potentially fatal infections from spreading from patient to patient and from patient to healthcare worker and vice-versa. In the home, it can prevent infectious diseases such as diarrhea and hepatitis A from spreading from family member to family member and, sometimes, throughout a community.

The diseases that can be prevented by good hand washing practice include the diseases that spread through fecal-oral transmission such as salmonellosis, shigellosis, hepatitis A, giardiasis, enterovirus, amebiasis, and campylobacteriosis. Because these diseases are spread through the ingestion of even the tiniest particles of fecal material, hand washing after using the toilet cannot be over-emphasized. The diseases spread through indirect contact with respiratory secretions such as influenza and the common cold can also be prevented by hand washing. after coughing or sneezing and after shaking hands with an individual who has been coughing and sneezing.

When should you wash your hands? We should wash our hands frequently as mentioned below:

Before eating food

After using the toilet

After cleaning a child's bottom or after changing diapers

Before, during, and after preparing food

After blowing our nose, coughing, or sneezing

After handling pet animals or animal waste

After touching raw fish, meat, poultry, and vegetables

After touching garbage

After visiting sick people

When the hands are visibly dirty

We should wash our hands in some better ways. Otherwise germs may still be there in the hands. We should follow the following steps to wash our hands: Wet, Lather, Scrub, Rinse, Dry.

Wet: Wet the hands with water.    

Lather: Take soap, rub on both hands together and make soapy lather.

Scrub: Scrub both sides of the hands, between the fingers, around and under the nails, around the thumbs for about 10-20 seconds. Soap lather will pull the dirt and oily materials from the skin and the germs will slide off.

Rinse: Wash the hand thoroughly under running water. Turn the tap by your left hand.

Dry: Use a fresh towel to dry the hands (but before eating, we do not need to dry our hands as we usually take food by our hand).

Any type of plain soap may be used for hand washing. Bar soaps should be kept on a self draining holder so that water drains off easily. Small bar soaps are better as they can be changed frequently. Liquid soap is the best but it is rather costly. The container of the liquid soap should be washed and dried before refilling.

If soap and water are not available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol can be used to clean hands. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands but may not eliminate all types of germs and harmful chemicals. Hand sanitizers are not as effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy.

We do some common mistakes while washing our hands. For example, we do not rub both sides of the hands properly. We forget to clean between the fingers, around and under the nails. We also forget to clean around the thumbs. And at the end, we use a common towel to dry our hands. We must be very careful to avoid these common mistakes during hand washing.  n

 

Handwashing: A cheap and easy way to prevent many infections

Hygiene is commonly understood as preventing infection through cleanliness. Keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Washing hands is the most common example of hygienic behaviour. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean water. Hand washing is very important from hygienic point of view. It is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of many communicable diseases. We can catch germs when we touch contaminated objects. We cannot see these germs by our naked eyes. So, hands may carry germs even when they are apparently clean. Subsequently when we touch food, mouth, eyes, nose, etc. we may get the infection. We can spread the germs to other people casually by touching another person. Common germs that can be transmitted by contaminated hands are Hepatitis A, common cold virus, influenza virus, E coli bacteria, germs for diarrhoeal diseases, food poisoning, dysentery and typhoid fever, helminths, etc. Through the practice of proper hand washing, diarrhoeal diseases, which are very common in our country, can be reduced to a great extent and thus more lives can be saved. In the healthcare setting, hand washing can prevent potentially fatal infections from spreading from patient to patient and from patient to healthcare worker and vice-versa. In the home, it can prevent infectious diseases such as diarrhea and hepatitis A from spreading from family member to family member and, sometimes, throughout a community. The diseases that can be prevented by good hand washing practice include the diseases that spread through fecal-oral transmission such as salmonellosis, shigellosis, hepatitis A, giardiasis, enterovirus, amebiasis, and campylobacteriosis. Because these diseases are spread through the ingestion of even the tiniest particles of fecal material, hand washing after using the toilet cannot be over-emphasized. The diseases spread through indirect contact with respiratory secretions such as influenza and the common cold can also be prevented by hand washing. after coughing or sneezing and after shaking hands with an individual who has been coughing and sneezing. When should you wash your hands? We should wash our hands frequently as mentioned below: Before eating food After using the toilet After cleaning a childs bottom or after changing diapers Before, during, and after preparing food After blowing our nose, coughing, or sneezing After handling pet animals or animal waste After touching raw fish, meat, poultry, and vegetables After touching garbage After visiting sick people When the hands are visibly dirty We should wash our hands in some better ways. Otherwise germs may still be there in the hands. We should follow the following steps to wash our hands: Wet, Lather, Scrub, Rinse, Dry. Wet: Wet the hands with water. Lather: Take soap, rub on both hands together and make soapy lather. Scrub: Scrub both sides of the hands, between the fingers, around and under the nails, around the thumbs for about 10-20 seconds. Soap lather will pull the dirt and oily materials from the skin and the germs will slide off. Rinse: Wash the hand thoroughly under running water. Turn the tap by your left hand. Dry: Use a fresh towel to dry the hands (but before eating, we do not need to dry our hands as we usually take food by our hand). Any type of plain soap may be used for hand washing. Bar soaps should be kept on a self draining holder so that water drains off easily. Small bar soaps are better as they can be changed frequently. Liquid soap is the best but it is rather costly. The container of the liquid soap should be washed and dried before refilling. If soap and water are not available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol can be used to clean hands. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands but may not eliminate all types of germs and harmful chemicals. Hand sanitizers are not as effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy. We do some common mistakes while washing our hands. For example, we do not rub both sides of the hands properly. We forget to clean between the fingers, around and under the nails. We also forget to clean around the thumbs. And at the end, we use a common towel to dry our hands. We must be very careful to avoid these common mistakes during hand washing. n