Stay Healthy This Flu Season - Wash Your Hands!

Trying to stay healthy? Wash your hands! This simple step is the first line of defense when warding off whatever it is that is currently "going around." School teachers know this well. They see firsthand the journey of a germ. First Bobby comes in coughing, a few days later Sally is doing the same. One by one each morning, the students are taking turns passing the newest flu bug from one to another. These kids take the bug home and share it with Mom and Dad, who take it to work and share it with their coworkers and so it goes.

If only germs were actually visible. If this were the case, we would all be much more vigilant in keeping our hands clean. Imagine the germs from the latest flu bug as bright green paint. Green paint would be visible on the hands of those who were sick, as well as everything they had touched: the door handle, the light switch, the telephone, the computer keyboard, the up button for the elevator . . . Soon everyone else sharing the same space has green paint all over their hands too. Soap dispensers would soon need refilling as people would be quick to wash their hands to remove the paint. Germs really do travel the same way as the green paint would, but unfortunately, because we cannot see them, we too often forget the germs are there. Thus, hands go unwashed, germs continue to spread.

The moral of the story? Wash your hands!

Proper Hand Washing Technique:

It is not enough to rub your hands under the water for a few seconds and then shake them dry. Good hand washing technique is not a complicated science but it does go a bit further than getting your hands wet. It is generally accepted that you should wash your hands for about 20 seconds with soap and clean, running water. Wash by rubbing hands together and paying attention to all the surfaces of the hands to include in between the fingers, backs of hands and the fingernail area. Give all the surfaces of the hand a good scrubbing and then rinse well. To dry your hands it is best to use a clean paper towel or to allow your hands to air dry.

When To Wash Your Hands:

There are obvious times when hands should be washed. These include washing your hands after using the bathroom and washing your hands before eating or preparing food. Hands need to be washed at other times too. Consider making it a habit to always wash your hands upon entering your home. Your hands pick up many germs when you are out in public touching shared surfaces like door handles and shopping carts. Wash your hands when you get home to avoid spreading these germs throughout your home. Be extra vigilant about hand washing if you are sick.

It doesn't take long to adopt good hand washing habits. It is simply a matter of becoming more aware of the importance of washing well and washing often. Twenty seconds is all it takes to wash away the germs that could lead to several days of illness--consider it twenty seconds very well spent.