World Hand Hygiene Day: Shocking Things Can Happen If You Don't Wash Your Hands Properly

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you did not have hands? Hands are the most actively utilised parts of the body throughout the day.

Whether it be picking up something, holding on to something, moving a thing from one place to the other, or grabbing food - hands and their utility make our lives easier.

However, they are most often taken for granted. Not taking proper care of them, especially while consuming food or applying something on the face, could become the reason of many diseases.

It is but imperative to keep them clean all the time, as they carry a lot of germs and bacteria in them, by virtue of their reach and usage.

There is a pimple on your face and the first thing you do is touch it with your hands. If your hands are full of germs, then there are chances for the infection to spread.

On this World Hand Hygiene Day we bring to you a few of the things that can happen if you do not wash your hands.

Catch A Cold Often:

One of the primary reasons why someone would catch a cold is because of dirty hands. While the hands are not being accused of carrying the bacteria themselves, chances are high that a door knob, or a handle or a handshake from an infected person will definitely transfer the germs to you. It is very simple; wash your hands periodically, preferably with a soap.

Faeces In Food:

As gross as it may sound, this is true. Unwashed hands will diligently carry with them the remnants of faeces and help them settle down on your food. You may have changed a diaper, or gotten off a bus, or sat on beach sand - your nails and hands have the tendency to keep the dirt unless cleaned with a soap. So, for the goodness of your own health and food, eat only after you have thoroughly washed your hands.

Frequent Visits To The Loo:

Much to our dislike this is bound to happen if hands aren't taken care of. After a certain point, the digestive system is bound to go for a toss if food has less of nutrients and more of waste. Diarrhoea will become our unnecessary companion and that will also lead to soreness of inner walls leading to multiplication of problems.

E. Coli Poisoning:

Escherichia Coli is a bacteria that spreads from the stool of one person to the other. Using a public toilet increases the chances of spreading this disease, as we cannot trust the odds of such a patient cleaning their hands after using the toilet. Once affected this will cause unstoppably severe diarrhoea and body weakness for up to a week.

Hand-foot-mouth Disease:

This condition is caused due to unhygienic hands that particularly carry remnants of faeces. It creates blister-like bumps in the mouth and on the palms and soles of our feet. All it takes is a simple step of washing hands.

Food Poisoning:

Contaminated hands can lead to food poisoning that involves acute stomach ache, vomiting and uncontrolled and frequent passage of stools.

Hepatitis A:

This is a highly contagious viral infection of the liver. Symptoms include fatigue, dark urine, nausea, fever, loss of appetite, dark stool and urine and yellow coloured skin and eyes. This is mostly communicated from person to person or by consuming contaminated food from the infected person.

Body Fluid Illness:

The fluids that we excrete contain a lot of germs, especially when infected. This spreads through blood, urine, faeces, pus, saliva and reproductive fluids. Examples of some diseases include Typhoid, Epstein-barr virus, etc.

Impetigo:

This is a contagious infection commonly found in children that starts with bad hand hygiene. It is characterised by redness that develops into small blisters.

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