Sing Happy Birthday twice and your hands are clean

People need to spend 20 seconds washing their hands to fully get rid of germs, experts say.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) said washing your hands for 20 seconds – the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice – was the only sure way of getting rid of viruses and bacteria that can cause colds, flu, infections and upset stomachs.

It is calling for people to wash their hands more thoroughly as a way of cutting down the need for antibiotics, which are becoming less effective as bugs become increasingly resistant to them.

About a third of cases of diarrhoea and 16% of respiratory infections can be prevented through good handwashing.

The RPS’s poll of more than 2,000 people found that 84% are not washing their hands for long enough.

Meanwhile, 65% do not always wash their hands before eating, and half do not wash them after touching animals including pets.

Some 32% do not wash their hands before preparing food and a fifth of people (21%) do not always wash their hands after going to the toilet.

RPS president Ash Soni said: “We don’t wash our hands often enough for long enough to get rid of the bacteria that can cause illnesses.

“Even when we remain unaffected by the bugs we carry, if we don’t wash our hands we can transmit infections which then become a real problem for those who are more vulnerable.”