Clean hands as key to better health

Washing your hands correctly is the most effective thing you can do to protect yourself against some infectious diseases, such as common cold, according to health experts. Not only will it help keep you healthy, it also prevents the spread of infectious diseases to others. Health experts say even if your hands appear to be […]

Washing your hands correctly is the most effective thing you can do to protect yourself against some infectious diseases, such as common cold, according to health experts. Not only will it help keep you healthy, it also prevents the spread of infectious diseases to others.

Health experts say even if your hands appear to be clean, they may carry germs. Hands pick up micro-organisms (germs) in a number of ways.

When people who are sick sneeze or cough, the germs that are making them sick are expelled into the air in tiny droplets. If these droplets get onto your hands, and then you touch your mouth, eyes or nose without washing away the germs, you carry the infection. You can also get sick if you don’t wash your hands before and after preparing food, after handling raw meat, and after using the toilet.

Washing your hands not only prevents you from getting sick, it also reduces the risk of infecting others. If you don’t wash your hands properly before coming into contact with others, you can infect them with the germs on your hands. Other people can also get sick from the germs unwashed hands leave on shared objects like door knobs, keyboards and other equipment in the home or workplace.

Hand-to-hand contact can spread mild conditions, such as the common cold, but also more severe or life-threatening diseases. Infectious diseases are a particular risk to the very young, the elderly, those with a pre-existing disease, and people with a compromised immune system, such as those with HIV or AIDS.

Hand washing is the single most important step in preventing the spread of diseases. Since your hands come in contact with nearly any bodily fluid that you might have, not to mention other sources of germs, it is extremely important to wash them often. We all use our hands much more frequently than we realize and they come into contacts with millions of germs a day.

It’s generally best to wash your hands with soap and water. Follow these simple steps: Wet your hands with running water, apply liquid, bar or powder soap, 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 or disposable towel or air dryer. If possible, use your towel to turn off the faucet. Keep in mind that antibacterial soap is no more effective at killing germs than is regular soap.

When preparing or serving food, you have a very important job in providing safe food for family and friends.

When you have a cold or flu stay away from the kitchen if you can. If you must handle food, be very careful about washing your hands. Use utensils instead of your hands when working with food.

Always wash your hands after touching garbage, poison, cleaning supplies, or anything that gets your hands dirty. This rule also applies to contacts with animals or pets, their dishes or bedding.

Even if your kitchen is so clean that someone can “eat off of the floor,” do not pick food up to eat. Do not mix it with non-contaminated food.

In summary, use correct kitchen habits and learn to practice good personal hygiene. Dirty kitchens, bad personal hygiene and careless food handling, can carry bacteria that infect food and cause food-borne illnesses.

Regular hand washing is important to your health year-round, because it can keep you from getting sick or spreading germs to friends, family or even an entire community.