John Myers
To keep your hands clean, just wash them with soap and water under running water for twenty seconds. This is enough to protect yourself from dangerous viruses and bacteria.
WHY WASH YOUR HANDS
If you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds, you get rid of dirt, viruses, and bacteria, protecting yourself and others from food poisoning, flu, or diarrhea.
Studies show that a simple procedure such as hand washing reduces the risk of respiratory viral infections, including influenza and SARS. Similarly, in one-third of cases, people could avoid diarrhea if they washed their hands thoroughly.
Clean hands help avoid the overuse of antibiotics and thus prevent the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Handwashing is also a good prevention for people who are already resistant to antibiotics and who may be difficult to treat.
WHEN TO WASH YOUR HANDS
Be sure to wash your hands:
before, during, and after food preparation;
before eating food;
before and after caring for a patient;
before and after treating cuts or wounds;
after using the toilet;
after changing diapers or cleaning up after a child who has used the toilet;
after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing;
after touching animals or animal food, cleaning up after an animal, etc.
after taking out the garbage.
WHAT TO DO IF THERE IS NO WATER AND SOAP
The best way to reduce the number of germs on your hands in most cases is to wash them with soap and water for 20 seconds. However, if soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on your hands, but they do not kill all types of germs and may not remove harmful chemicals.
