Healthy Hand Washing Tips

Wellness

oi-Sneha

By Sneha

Friday, August 17, 2012, 17:12 [IST]

Germs spread through many mediums. One of them being your hands. You use your hands to touch many things all through the day. And many people, especially Indians, have the habit of eating their food with their hands. Other than that, many a times our hand touches our mouth for a multiple reasons. It is also the easiest way for infection to spread from one person to the other. So these are some general hand washing rules that are to be followed if you want to prevent infection.

When- It is very important to keep clean hands all the time. But the first question that arises is when are the times that you must wash hands to keep them germ free. You must make hand washing a habit in the first place. You must not forget washing your hands before and after a meal. It is also mandatory to wash your hands while you cook or serve food.

There are also some other conditions that demand washing hands. For example, before and after touching or treating a wound, touching an animal, wiping nose or mouth, handling garbage, going to the wash-room, eating medicines, cleaning etc. All these situations require washing your hands as this is the safest way to stay healthy by keeping away infections.

How- Now just washing hands is not enough. You need to clean your hands in a proper way to keep them germ free. Always try washing your hands with running and not stored water. Use a soap or liquid hand wash. Rub both the hands properly for at least 20-25 seconds. Wash it off and then rub it dry with a towel. This is the only way to clean hands in a proper manner.

It is not always possible to carry a hand wash or soap to all the places. The best alternative is to carry a hand sanitizer with you. This is handy and you do not even need water to wash it off. Take a few drops of the hand sanitizer in your hands and rub it on your palms till it turns dry. But you need to check if the sanitizer has a minimum of 60% alcohol content. You can also use anti-bacterial wipes for the purpose as they are equally effective.

You must also take notice of the fact that you clean your nails properly too while you clean your hands with either soap or sanitizer. Infections may spread even from dirty nails.

Keep all of these in mind before you wash your hands and take a step ahead towards healthy living.