(Take the quiz to see if you can guess just how many times the average person touches their face in one hour!) How Handwashing Protects You From Coronavirus, the Flu Virus, and Other GermsĪccording to the CDC, handwashing can prevent 1 in 3 diarrhea-related sicknesses and 1 in 5 respiratory infections, such as the flu or a cold. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you should also wash your hands after touching a frequently touched surface, such as tables, door handles, and cashier screens, and before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. The CDC recommends handwashing in several situations, including before cooking and eating and after using the toilet, blowing your nose, sneezing, coughing, caring for someone who is sick, touching garbage, touching animals, and more. Poor hand hygiene also increases the risk of spreading germs to others either directly (shaking someone’s hand) or indirectly (like when you touch a doorknob, then another person touches that same doorknob, picking up the germs you left behind). Skimping on any of these steps can leave germs lurking on your hands, which then have the potential to migrate to your mouth when you eat or your eyes, nose, or mouth when you touch your face. Dry thoroughly with a clean towel or air dryer.Scrub for at least 20 seconds, getting between your fingers and under the nails.Lather with soap by rubbing your hands together.Wet your hands with clean running water.How to Properly Wash Your Hands in 5 StepsĪccording to the CDC, effective handwashing includes these five steps. To really kill as many germs on your hands as possible, you need to spend a little more time at the sink. A quick rinse under the faucet followed by wiping your wet hands on your pants won’t cut it. Department of Agriculture that was released in June 2018 found that 97 percent of the time, people failed to clean their hands properly before a meal. Truth be told, as commonplace as handwashing is, many of us aren’t doing it right or often enough to claim proper hand hygiene. And all you really need is plain soap and clean water. In fact, the ordinary act of washing your hands, if done properly and routinely, is an effective method to help protect against numerous infectious diseases, including the flu and COVID-19. It’s one of three primary ways health officials say we can protect ourselves and others during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with wearing a mask and keeping a safe distance from other people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
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