About Effective Hand Washing

Hand washing is such a basic part of personal hygiene that most people learn how to do it by the time they are two. Restaurants are required by law to provide sinks with running water in their bathrooms, and employees that handle food are reminded by posted signs on the bathroom walls of their establishment the importance of the habit. Still, studies have shown that most people don't wash their hands correctly or long enough to kill harmful bacteria, and those that do often pick up more germs on their way out of public restrooms when they do not dry thoroughly.

Benefits

• Washing our hands thoroughly and regularly is one of the few ways we can minimize the chance of contracting or spreading illnesses like the flu, the common cold, diarrhea and serious food-related conditions, such as salmonella and E-coli.

Proper Washing

• In order to wash your hands thoroughly, you should use warm water, and scrub your fingers, the fronts and backs of your hands and in between your fingers with soap for at least 20 seconds. This should be done long enough to sing, "Happy Birthday."

When to Wash

• You should wash your hands whenever you use the bathroom, after touching pets, handling dirty diapers or touching raw meat. Be careful of touching your eyes and mouth because of cross contamination.

Germs

• There are four types of Germs that may be transmitted through touch: bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi.

Hand Sanitizers

• Recent studies from The University of Michigan suggest that improper use of hand sanitizers and an alcohol content of less than 60 percent found in many less expensive brands may cause dangerous bacterium to multiply, creating resistant germs and spreading illness.