THE PROPER WAY TO KEEP HANDS CLEAN AND GERM-FREE

With flu season coming and COVID-19 spreading around the world, health experts are saying again how important it is to keep your hands clean. So how do you do it properly?

---

Viruses that cause colds and flu are transmitted in many ways but most often from hands. We touch our face an average of 15 to 23 times per hour. That means a lot of touching nose, eyes and mouth, which all have the thin skin called mucous membranes – an easy place for germs to enter the body.

Washing gets rid of germs you might pick up from other people or touching something dirty. It might be picking up dog turds in the garden, changing a nappy, handling raw meat or touching stuff a sick person has sneezed on.



TEACH THE KIDS
Beside colds and flu, hand hygiene can protect you against diarrhoea, respiratory infections and even skin or eye infections.

Stop spreading germs at home by setting an example for the kids, washing before eating and cooking, after using the bathroom or cleaning the house, taking out garbage, touching animals, visiting sick people, blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing.

Teach the kids the good habit by washing hands together. Remind them to wash first thing when they get home from day care, school, a friend’s house or a high-traffic area such as a play park. Before and after eating and drinking is also important.


Credit: World Health Organization

THE PROPER WAY
When washing your hands, you have to do a proper job. But it only takes soap and water and 20 seconds of scrubbing, rinsing and thoroughly drying your hands and wrists.

Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap. Don’t use standing water because it could be contaminated. The temperature doesn’t seem to matter. Just make sure it’s not too hot for little hands.

Soap contains surfactants. They lift dirt and microbes from skin. Normal soap is good enough for everyday use – you don’t really need one with antibacterial ingredients unless you’re in health care or doing first aid.

Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. The most common areas missed when people wash hands are thumbs, wrists and between fingers, is what an American infectious disease physician, Colleen Kraft, and her team found in a study.

So make sure you scrub everywhere. The dirtiest spots are probably under the nails. And go up to your wrists with the soap.

HOW LONG?
Setting an exact time is tricky because it can depend on obvious things such as how dirty your hands are and what you’re doing next – a surgeon will obviously wash longer than someone getting ready to make supper.

But how long you wash does make a big difference. Most health organisations and experts agree that 20 to 30 seconds of washing is good. Less isn’t. Then some also recommend drying for 20 to 30 seconds.

Your kids will get the timing right with this fun trick. Tell them to sing “Happy Birthday” twice while they rub their hands together with soap and water.

Soap and friction help lift dirt and microbes, so now you can rinse them off under clean running water. Air-dry or dry with a clean towel. Do it thoroughly, because damp hands won’t stay germ-free for long.

Between washes, try not to touch your face or rub your eyes. Also remind the kids to keep fingers and nails out of their mouths and noses.

Sources: www.cdc.gov, www.who.int, kidshealth.org, www.clarionledger.com, my.clevelandclinic.org, www.dhd10.org. 

 JET CLUB HELPLINES
Jet Club members get discounted rates on clinic services at Dis-Chem and Clicks pharmacies. For more information call:

Pharmacy and clinic services helpline
SA & Namibia
0800 00 45 45
Botswana, Lesotho & Swaziland
+2711 991 8258