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How often do you wash your hands? Do you wash them properly? Effective Hand Hygiene is the single most important strategy in preventing health care associated infections..
In today's rapidly changing world, we are usier than ever and increasingly oblivious to hand washing. Nicely washed hands are not only aesthetic, but proper hand washing can prevent the spread of infections, germs or bacteria. Thorough hand washing can also reduce the spread of cold, flue and gastro-intestinal diseases. We may not realise it but every single day, we all touch thousands of things that contain pathogens…door handle, computer keyboard, telephone, toilet seat…and I can keep naming others…touching money and then touching our face or putting a hand in front of our mouth when coughing….visiting hospitals, medical centres and other places that potentially have a higher levels of bacterial contamination.
"How many of us think about pathogens transferred to our hand in a hand shake?"
Washing our hands on a regular basis would help avoid a many diseases and infections. A common mistake is that people wash their hands quickly, and such hand washing is not thorough. Many of us soap our hands for just five seconds, and then just a quickly rinse them. Not to mention that they are missing out on the hand drying. Optimally, hand washing should last for at least 30 seconds. As talking about hand washing, we should be aware that washing our hands too often is also not a good idea. Neither extreme is good…when you do not wash your hands or when you're cleaning them too often. Frequent hand washing can lead to dry and cracked skin, which provides a way for bacteria to get into our skin.
It is important to treat and protect our hands. We can also apply a waterless antimicrobial hand rub to the surface of the hands (alcohol-based hands rub) or hand sanitizer (antibacterial hand gel) if we are not able to use a sink, water & soap…. They are a great option, for example when traveling or hiking…
Hand hygiene is important and by doing it regularly we can prevent the spread of bacteria and germs. Even at home it is necessary to pay attention to basic hand hygiene and to teach our children to wash hands regularly and properly.
When sick with a cold, flu or suffering from other diseases, make sure that you thoroughly cleanse your hands from bacteria. When coughing or sneezing, overlap your mouth with a tissue, not hands. It is important that we pay attention to hand hygiene - with thorough hand washing and drying we can make the world a more pleasant place!
*Did you know that door handles are the main source of cross contamination? But there is a solution. Active Mobility Systems offers Ulna Gold, hands-free door handle that makes it possible to limit the risk of contamination via door handles. Click here to find out more*