The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that only 31% of men and 65% of women wash their hands after using a public restroom.
Not washing our hands can lead to the spread of germs and increase the risk of getting illnesses that affect our health.
Personal hygiene begins and ends with our hands. Frequent handwashing is one of the simplest and most effective ways to stay healthy and reduce the spread of germs.
Germs can spread easily when we touch our faces, prepare food, or handle shared objects. You can pick up and pass along germs when you:
- Touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
- Prepare or eat food with unwashed hands
- Touch contaminated surfaces or objects
- Blow your nose, cough, or sneeze into your hands and then touch others or shared items
Therefore, it is extremely important to keep you and your loved ones healthy by washing your hands often. There are several instances when it is important to wash your hands, including:
- Before, during, and after preparing food
- Before eating
- Before and after caring for someone who’s sick
- Before and after treating a wound
- After using the bathroom
- After changing diapers or cleaning a child who has used the bathroom
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
- After touching animals or handling pet food
- After touching garbage
Some other facts that highlight the importance of handwashing include:
- 80% of spreadable diseases can be transferred by touch
- Washing your hands a few times a day can reduce diarrhea rates by 40%
- Touching your face with dirty hands can spread sicknesses such as pneumonia, the common cold, and the flu
- Pneumonia is the number one cause of childhood death, and is preventable by regular handwashing
- When you flush a toilet with the seat up, a bacteria-filled mist is spread over about 6 square meters, and worse, 90% of these bacteria cover the sinks in public bathrooms.
- Most bacteria on our hands are under our fingernails, so it is important to scrub under them when washing our hands
- Damp hands are 1,000 times more likely to spread bacteria than dry hands, yet only 20% of people dry their hands after washing them
- Reusable cloth towels have millions of bacteria in their fibers. Using disposable paper towels is the cleanest way to dry our hands
- Studies show that people who wash their hands have 24% fewer sick days because of respiratory illness, and 51% fewer sick days due to a sick stomach
It is important to wash your hands after being in public places where you may touch shared surfaces such as door handles, shopping carts, or checkout screens, and before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Clean hands prevent infections and sickness, so it is important to learn the basics of hand hygiene. Here are five steps to wash your hands the right way:
- Wet your hands with clean, warm, or cold running water, turn off the tap, and apply soap
- Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails
- Scrub for at least 20 seconds. You can hum or sing the “Happy Birthday” song to time yourself
- Rinse your hands well under clean, running water
- Dry your hands with a clean towel or dry air
If soap and water aren’t available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
Making a habit of good hand hygiene is an easy, effective way to prevent infections and sickness.
If you are sick and would like to be seen by a physician, you can schedule an appointment at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Ambulatory Care Center by calling (718) 206-7001.
FollowAll content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.