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Are you a face toucher?
Research shows humans touch their faces about 23 times, every single hour. The research goes on to show that 44% of the time we touch our face, it’s to touch our nose, eyes, and mouth, which can easily lead to infections.
While you can try your best to not touch your face, chances are you’re going to at some point today. Perhaps you’re even touching your face right now.
The Complete Guide on Hands Clean
The good news is that you can reduce the risk of catching an infection, or virus-like COVID, by simply keeping your hands clean.
To help you out we’ve created this short but complete handwashing guide. By the time you’re done reading this article, you’ll know the truth about when to wash your hands, along with the best handwashing practices.
Read on to learn to get the right facts about washing your hands.
Top Reasons to Wash Your Hands
Other than preventing the spread of COVID-19, why should you keep your hands clean? Here’s a list of our favorite reasons to wash your hands:
- Reduce the rise of antibiotic resistance
- Save money
- Set a good example
- Reduce the risk of pink eye
- Look your best
Studies show antibiotic resistance is 1 of the most dangerous global health threats. Both tuberculosis and pneumonia, are becoming difficult to treat because of antibiotic resistance. By regularly washing your hands, you can help decrease the chance of catching or spreading these bacterial infections.
Create Antibiotics to Remain Effective
The fewer cases there are of tuberculosis or pneumonia, the easier it becomes for antibiotics to remain effective. You’ll also be able to save yourself a ton of money by washing your hands because you won’t have to waste time being sick. Moving on, if you’re a parent, regularly cleaning your hands sets a great example for your kids.
Employees can also set good examples for their teammates by serving as a handwashing role model. Finally, on top of keeping you healthy, clean hands also look good. To have the best handwashing experience, buy high-quality soaps like the ones this company sells.
When to Wash Your Hands?
Instead of cleaning your hands all the time, which can lead to dry skin, focus on washing your hands at the right times.
Here are a few instances where it’s crucial to wash your hands:
- Eating or preparing food
- Treating injuries
- Caring for an ill person
- Using contacts
- Going to the bathroom
- Changing a diaper
- Touching a pet or animal
- Sneezing or coughing
- Cleaning animal waste
- Touching garbage
- Touching pet food
- When there’s visible dirt
- Going to a store
- Medical appointments
- Visiting a neighbor
Looking at the list Above Hands clean
There are a few instances where you should wash your hands both before and after completing certain activities. For instance, when you’re arriving at the grocery store, use hand sanitizer before touching the shopping carts. When you’re leaving the grocery store sanitize your hands again.
By washing your hands before and after, you’ll be able to prevent spreading your germs, while also removing any new germs you pick up along the way. Finally, if you’re working with food, plan on washing your hands several times.
Food Handling Tips
First wash your hands before handling the food, during the food preparation, and again when you’re all done. For instance, let’s say you’re working with raw chicken. Before you move on to cutting up vegetables or touching cookware, wash your hands thoroughly to prevent the spread of salmonella.
How to Keep Your Hands Clean?
Now you’re ready to learn the best way to wash your hands! Here are 5 simple steps to get your hands squeaky clean:
- Wet your hands
- Apply soap and lather
- Scrub hands
- Rinse well
- Dry hands completely
When you’re wetting your hands, you can use whatever temperature water you like. If you’re at a public restroom, go ahead and get a paper towel ahead of time so you don’t have to touch the sink’s handles.
Apply Soap to your Hands and Begin Rubbing them Together
Once you have a good thick lather, let the soap come all the way up past your wrist. Take a few moments to wash your wrist on the front, back and sides.
Moving on, begin scrubbing the backs of your hands. When you’re done with the back of your hands, start scrubbing your palms. Pretend like you’re scratching the palm of your hand to help the soap get underneath the fingernails. While you’re working the soap into your skin for prevention, hum your ABC’s or the Happy Birthday song twice.
Rinse Your Hands
When you’re done humming, it’s time to rinse your hands. With your hands facing downwards, start by rinsing off your wrists, and then rinse off the backs of your hands. Finally, rinse off your palms and use a clean paper towel to thoroughly dry your hands. When you’re leaving the bathroom, avoid touching any doorknobs with your freshly cleaned hands.
Making Hand Hygiene Fun for Kids
If you have kids in your household, getting them to keep their hands clean can be a struggle. To help get your kids excited about washing their hands, work towards making it a fun experience. You can begin by looking for hand soaps that come in containers your kids will enjoy, like their favorite character shapes.
Next, work with your kids to create a handwashing song you can sing together. Finally, put up a handwashing chart in your house. You don’t even need to create a rewards system. Instead, your kids will get a kick out of being able to check off the chart every time they wash their hands.
Protect Your Household
Now you know the ins and outs of how to keep your hands clean. Go ahead and share what you learned today with your entire household. For instance, make sure everyone’s washing their hands before and after each meal.
After all, when everyone’s practicing good hand hygiene, it’ll be easier to keep your loved ones safe from getting sick. For more tips like the ones in this article, check out the rest of our web guides section!
