How to Wash Your Hands Properly and Stay Virus Free!

How to Wash Your Hands Correctly and Stay Virus Free! Hand washing is a basic but extremely important care to avoid catching or transmitting different types of infectious diseases, especially after being in environments with a high risk of contamination, such as a public bathroom or the hospital, for example.

Thus, knowing how to wash your hands properly is very important to eliminate viruses and bacteria that may be on the skin and cause infections in the body. See other care needed to use the bathroom of the school, hotel or work without catching diseases.

What is the importance of washing hands?

Washing your hands is a very important step in combating infectious diseases, whether by viruses or bacteria. This is because, often the first contact with a disease happens through the hands that, when they are brought to the face and come into direct contact with the mouth, eyes and nose, end up leaving viruses and bacteria that result in infection.

Some of the diseases that can be easily prevented with hand washing include:

Colds and flu;
Hepatitis A;
Leptospirosis;
E.coli infection;
Toxoplasmosis;
Infection with salmonella sp .;
In addition, any other type of infectious disease or new infection can also be combated by washing hands.

8 steps to wash your hands properly:

So, the 8 most important steps you should take to wash your hands include:

Put soap and clean water on your hands;
Rub the palm of each hand;
Rub your fingertips on the palm of your other hand;
Rub between the fingers of each hand;
Rub the thumb of each hand;
Wash the back of each hand;
Wash the wrists of both hands;
Dry with a clean towel or paper towel.
A good tip at the end of washing your hands is to use the paper towel used to close the tap and avoid re-entering bacteria that have been left on the tap when opening the water.

 

What kind of soap should you use?

 

The most suitable soap to wash your hands on a daily basis, both at home, at school or at work is the common soap. Antibacterial soaps are reserved for use in clinics and hospitals or when caring for someone with an infected wound, such as bedsores, which are common wounds in bedridden people.

Gel alcohol and disinfectant substances are not the best options for disinfecting your hands on a daily basis, but in any case, it may be useful to have a small packet of gel alcohol or antiseptic gel inside the bag to clean the toilet that use it at school or at work, before sitting down, for example.

 

When to wash your hands:

 

You should wash your hands at least 3 times a day, but you must always wash after using the bathroom and before eating because this prevents diseases such as gastroenteritis that are caused by viruses that easily pass from one person to another through contamination fecal-oral.

So, to protect yourself and also protect others it is important to wash your hands:

When preparing raw foods like salad or sushi;
After sneezing, coughing or touching your nose;
After touching animals or their waste;
After touching the trash;
Before after changing the baby’s or bedridden’s diaper;
Before and after visiting a sick person;
Before and after touching wounds and
Whenever the hands are apparently dirty.
Hand washing is especially suitable for those who care for babies, bedridden people or those with weakened immune systems due to AIDS or cancer treatment because these people have a greater risk of becoming ill, making recovery more difficult.