Five important things to know about washing your hands
OUR hands are primary agents for spreading germs, yet few people wash their hands before preparing food, and less than 75% of women and 50% of men wash their hands after going to the toilet – two of the most important ways to make sure our hands are hygienically clean.
October15 is Global Hand-washing Day and, in a bid to reduce the spread of illness through unwashed hands, the Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA) is raising awareness about the benefits of regularly washing your hands with soap.
The ICPA’s chief executive Jackie Maimin said: “In addition to the statistics showing the percentage of people who do not wash their hands often enough, out of those who do wash, few use soap and do not spend enough time washing their hands.
“Keeping your hands clean is one of the most important steps you can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to people around you.”
The ICPA provides advice on five important things you might not know about washing your hands and why it matters:
Soap is key. Washing your hands with soap removes germs much more effectively than using water alone.
“The compounds in soap help remove dirt and microbes from your skin. You also tend to scrub your hands more thoroughly when you use soap, which also helps to removes germs,” says Maimin.
It takes longer than you might think. Evidence suggests that washing your hands for about 15 to 30 seconds removes more germs than washing for shorter periods. According to the ICPA, the average person spends less than 10 seconds washing his or her hands and for every 15 seconds we spend washing our hands, 10 times more bacteria is removed.
It’s all about technique. “Make sure to clean the spots on your hands that people miss most frequently. Pay particular attention to the backs of your hands, in between your fingers and under your nails. Most bacteria on our hands are on our fingertips and under our nails,” says Maimin. “The bacteria count is highest on our dominant hand. Yet right-handed people wash their left hand more thoroughly than their right hand, and vice versa.”
Don’t forget to dry. Germs can be transferred more easily to and from wet hands, so you should dry your hands after washing and before you touch anything or anyone.
“Studies suggest that using a clean towel or letting your hands air-dry are the best methods to get your hands dry.”
Hand sanitiser is an option. If you can’t get to a sink to wash your hands with soap and water, use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser. “Make sure you use enough to cover all surfaces of your hands,” says Maimin.
“It is important to note that clean hands save lives. Diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia are the top two killers of young children around the world. Among young children, hand-washing with soap prevents one out of every three diarrhoeal illnesses and one out of five respiratory infections like pneumonia worldwide,” says Maimin. | ICPA
● ICPA is an organisation that provides independent community pharmacies with a collective strength and a coherent voice that is heard by the government, medical schemes, pharmaceutical suppliers and, which is important, the consumer.