YOU MISSED A BIT! IMAGE THAT SHOWS HOW WE WASH

YOU may think it safe to assume we are washing our hands more thoroughly now than ever, but plenty of us are still missing vital germ hotspots.

Simply standing at the sink for 20 seconds with a little soap and water doesn’t ensure you’ve tackled every area of your hands — which means you may be raising your risk of contracting, or passing on, the coronavirus. This picture (adapted from germdefence.

org) shows the areas we commonly miss during hand-washing. The red parts — including creases in the palm, the thumb and fingertips — are the areas most often missed.

It’s based on a study from the Nursing Times in 1978, but our technique doesn’t appear to have improved significantly since then; a study published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health last year confirmed the fingertips, palms, and backs of the hands were missed most often.

However, the researchers did find that the front and back of the fingers, and the areas between them, were now the least missed. ‘Thorough hand-washing must be a habit,’ says Sally Bloomfield, an expert in home hygiene and an honorary professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. ‘Coronaviruses can’t breed on the hands, so after a matter of hours the number of particles will decrease significantly.

‘However, touching your eyes, nose and mouth while any part of the hand still possibly has virus particles on it risks affecting the tissues and cells, from which the virus can be passed to the lining of the lungs.’

Rose Gallagher, professional lead for infection prevention and control at the Royal College of Nursing, adds: ‘Handwashing is only effective if done properly and areas of the hands are not missed.

‘Make sure you rub your fingertips, the front and the back of your hand, and even the top of your wrists.’