Go and wash your hands properly.
Who hasn't heard this rule?
From your loved ones, of course!
To begin with, I am going to talk about hand wash techniques, as I feel even if we know about things related to hand hygiene, most of us are always in a rush!
Have you ever considered the fact that for a thing as simple as hygiene of hands, there can be a procedure? Well, the dull, but all-important news is YES, read through and see whether we all follow the techniques the right way or need some change of ways
World Health Organization recommends hand wash techniques
7 Steps of Hand wash Techniques we must use:
Make your hands wet. Apply soap
Rub Palms together with soap
Rub the Back of the Hands
Interlink Your Fingers
Cup Your Fingers
Clean the Thumbs
Rub Palms with Your finger while rinsing with water again
Moments of hand wash
Hand wash liquid is on everyone's mind! We live in uncertain times when there is a persistent risk of infections when we move outdoors. Maintaining good hand hygiene is one of the simplest things we can do to minimize our exposure to such risks. Common moments to use a hand wash in a typical home.
After you arrive back home from outside
Before you go to prepare or eat food
After you experience coughing or sneezing
After using the bathroom or lavatory
After you have handled garbage
While washing hands with perfect technique is important, we also cannot overlook the fact that the soap or liquid that we use has chemicals in it or not! It is best to opt for a natural hand wash not just for the sake of our health but also for the safety of the environment at large.
An all-natural, safe hand wash specially formulated by Ekam Eco Solutions to keep your worries away. It’s completely safe, made up of natural extracts of Haldi, Tulsi, and Coconut that leaves no smell after cleaning. The product is made with lots of love and care by the self-help women’s group whom we work with. Choose home care products that are all-natural!
Types of handwash talk about the various situations where the hand wash purpose and process need to be taken into consideration. The following are the standard three types for hand hygiene:
1. Routine hand wash:
This is about the use of water and non-antimicrobial soap for the purpose of removing soil and fleeting microorganisms. Also called Social Hand Hygiene, the aim of social (routine) hand washing with soap and warm water is to remove dirt and organic material, dead skin and most temporary organisms.
2. Antiseptic Hand Hygiene:
This is about applying a waterless antiseptic agent such as alcohol and rubbing the hands with it. This does not require water for rinsing and still destroys microbes and makes hands unfit for their stay. It is usually done on a repeat frequency during the following cases:
During the outbreak of some infection
Inside high-risk areas like ICUs
By doctors team before performing the procedure
For wound care, before and after
3. Surgical Hand Hygiene:
This requires removing and killing microbes. For doctors, hands are tools for caregiving, so it needs to be ensured they are clean at all levels.
And now, the question of the hand wash importance. You must be wondering what’s there to tell about it? We all know it so well from the early years of our lives! Yes, true that, but with changing times and criteria the importance has kept on increasing manifold, and it does no harm to read and keep in mind!
Hand wash is one of the most important steps we can take to prevent getting sick in the first place. This helps us not to spread it, in case we come in contact with others. Many diseases and conditions are spread only for the reason that the hand wasn't washed properly.
Stop the disease’s spread with one simple habit, done rightly!
Germs like Salmonella, E. coli O157, and norovirus cause diarrhoea, and they can spread some respiratory infections like adenovirus and hand-foot-mouth disease. How can the germs spread (if not combated during handwash or when someone thought handwash is not so important!) Please Read through:
Germs can get onto hands after people use the toilet or change a diaper
After handling raw meats that have invisible amounts of animal poop on them
Germs can also get onto hands if people touch any object that has germs on it
Someone coughs or sneezes and not washing hands after covering the mouth can spread it too
Touching contaminated objects does it too
People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even realising it and welcome germs in body
Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them
Hand wash time duration and correct technique are important as they significantly reduce the number of people who get sick.
Diarrhoea by 23-40%
Illness in people with weakened immune systems by 58%
Respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by 16-21%
Absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in school children by 29-57%
About 1.8 million children under the age of 5 die each year from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, the top two killers of young children around the world
Handwashing with soap could protect about 1 out of every 3 young children who get sick with diarrhoea
Almost 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections like pneumonia
Isn't prevention better than cure? Making hand wash rituals profound can help us ward off diseases from entering into our systems. It only takes a conscious decision and brings it to a hygiene habit. Inculcating the habits in kids goes a long way. Hoping for a more hygiene conscious population. Happy Hand Wash, everyone!