During the winter months, when everyone is sick and sneezing and coughing, germs are flying everywhere and if you’re immune system is weak, you have a high chance of getting sick as well. Washing your hands kills off many bacteria on your hands and lowers the risk of developing serious bacterial infections or other bacteria related illnesses, such as the flu or hepatitis A. The importance of hand washing stems from the fact that we use our hands for everything, from writing to eating, or wiping to weeding, we use our hands for a lot. That being said, our hands get dirty a lot, and in many cases we can not see that our hands are dirty due to the presence of millions of microscopic germs on our hands. Germs are microscopic bacteria that can get us sick very easily, and our hands are one of the most populated spots of germs on our bodies. Hand washing is the best and easiest way to counter all these germs.
Hand washing only takes a few simple steps to complete:
Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
Hand washing is an easy way to keep yourself healthy and strong during the cold seasons, so take the extra minute to clean off your hands and stop the flu from getting to you!
For more information on hand washing:
http://www.cdc.gov/cdctv/healthyliving/hygiene/fight-germs-wash-hands.html
http://www.cdc.gov/features/handwashing/
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