Today, washing your hands is one of the best things to do in order to be a healthy person. It can help you avoid catching many illnesses and it is a really good habit to get into. It is important to thoroughly wash your hands during the below listed critical times.
The first critical time is after you cough or blow your nose. The best idea is to cough, or sneeze, into your elbow and not your hand, but most of us cover our mouths, and nose, with our hands.
After sneezing, or coughing, there are many tiny amounts of nasal mucus that remain on the surface, and the only way to remove them, or keep them from being transferred to anything, and anyone, you touch is through hand washing.
The second critical time is just before you eat or cook. Throughout the day, your hands accumulate various germs and it is important to remove them before placing your hands near your mouth. If you don’t, the germs will pass onto the fork, and food, and then into your body and could make you sick.
Third, anytime you use the bathroom please be courteous and wash your hands. So many people go out of the bathroom without washing and that is quite disgusting! Regardless of being at home, or out in public, germs, and bodily waste, spread too easily and need to be contained by simply washing your hands.
If you take out your trash, please stop at the bathroom and wash your hands after coming in from dropping it off outside. Many don’t realize that even the outer side of the trash bag can contain germs that could pass some foodborne illnesses.
Riding in public is another critical time to wash your hands. It doesn’t matter if you are sitting, resting your arms on something, placing your hands on a seat or other surface, holding onto the railing, or touching another person. If you wash while you are away from home be sure to repeat with soap, and warm water, upon entering your home.
Another critical time to wash your hands is if you have a wound that needs to be cleaned and treated. If you wash your hands before treating it you can prevent yourself from having complications of germ, or illness, transfer. Be sure to wash your hands after cleaning, and treating, the wound to keep from spreading anything you may have to others.
Finally, anytime you touch animals or animal-related items, it is a good rule of thumb to wash your hands. It is true that animals are our best friends, but many carry germs that can make us sick if we don’t wash our hands.
Many people don’t know the correct way to wash his or her hands. Proper handwashing technique is not taught often. The germs and illnesses cannot be washed away just by rinsing hands and wiping them dry.
In order to clean your hands, you must use water, as warm as you can tolerate, and soap. Scrub and wash them for at least 20 seconds then dry them with a clean towel. Many of the illnesses today could be eliminated, or at least not spread if everyone did their part and correctly washed their hands.