Washing your hands appropriately and more frequently is not just about a good habit but it also an easy way to keep your body healthy by warding off the risk of contamination induced health concerns. The importance of washing hands regularly is enormous and it is for every age group of people.
This is the easiest way or step by following that on our day to day life we can live diseases free life as it prevents the spreading of germs and bacteria which our unwashed hands carry in it. Washing hands with soap ensure complete removal of all kinds of unhealthy micro-organisms and germs from your hand thus protects from infection risks.
As we have a general tendency to touch our eyes, nose, and mouth area so if your hands are loaded with germs and bacteria they will easily enter via these opening points of your body to inside your body causing risk to your vital organs and their functionality.
Animal or human feces or poop are the primary sources of germs such as Norovirus, Salmonella, etc which can cause diarrhea and even some respiratory tract infections. These germs get on to your hands after using the washroom or changing diapers of babies and also sometimes while cleaning raw animal meats which also contain in a little amount the animal poops.
So it requires instant cleaning and removal which is only possible if you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and then dry it completely with a clean towel or handkerchief or under a hand dryer machine.
Just one gram of human feces contains one trillion germs in it which simply indicates that what kind of health risk it can develop if you don’t wash your hands thoroughly after using the toilet or contact with feces in any form.
Apart from this, germs can spread through coughing, sneezing, etc especially if these germs spread on an object and you touch and use the same unknowingly. These germs can easily spread from one person to another making others sick due to contamination.
People who are already affected with infectious diseases can easily spread this to other healthy people if necessary protection and hygiene are not maintained by the affected people themselves and also by people living in their surroundings or home.
Washing hands in more frequent time can prevent the spreading of bacteria and viruses that causes common infectious diseases like influenza, salmonella, etc. So it is crucial for every individual to have awareness about the importance of washing hands regularly not only for their personal health protection but also for their near and dear ones.
When We Should Wash Our Hands
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We should wash our hands thoroughly-
- After using the washroom.
- Before handling little baby’s daily care routine works.
- After changing the nappies of your little one.
- Before and after handling or preparing food.
- Before serving or handling raw, cooked and ready-to-eat foods.
- Before eating your meal.
- After cleaning your house or its surrounding area.
- After handling the garbage or dustbin at your home.
- After working in your garden.
- After using a handkerchief.
- After handling your pet animals or touching any street animal.
- After smoking.
- Before and after taking care of a sick child or any other family member.
- After visiting a hospital.
- After playing an outdoor game.
- After a morning or evening walk.
- After sneezing, coughing or blowing nose.
Tips to Wash Your Hands in Proper Way
It is very crucial that you wash your hands in a proper manner in order to avail of its full benefit for your health and for staying more hygienic. So follow some below-mentioned tips which guide you regarding some effective ways of washing your hands.
- Wet your hands first with clean and running water, warm or cold and then turn off the tap.
- Now lather a cleaning soap well on your hands well for about 20 seconds or longer in case of excessive dirt on your hands or after handling garbage. It’s better that you use antibacterial soap as it kills all the microorganisms that your naked eyes can’t see. However, if it is not available, you can also clean with any soap.
- Rub your hands faster to clean every corner of your hands including between your fingers and wrist area and back as well. Don’t forget to clean under your nails where germs often make their place if it remains un-cleaned. Make sure that any little soap particle or traces would not remain left.
- Once you thoroughly cleanse your hands then dry it well with a clean towel or under a hot air dryer.
- If a single-use cloth towel or paper towel is available with you then it is best that you dry your hands through them. If you are using a cloth towel then make sure you clean it every day.
- Before washing your hands remove your watches, rings, etc to ensure that any germs or soap traces would not gather in these objects which becomes a source of contamination. If possible clean under your finger rings to remove microorganisms if it exists over there.
These simple steps of handwashing will ensure the good health of yours as well as your family members all year round.
8 Vital Importance of Washing Your Hands Regularly
Reduces the Use of Antibiotic Medications
Common cold and cough problems or diarrhea health issue which all primarily occurs as a result of spreading of germs and harmful bacteria or viruses can be reduced and even prevented by frequently washing your hands. The antibiotics which are the first line of treatment for relieving this kind of sickness can be reduced in a much effective way by incorporating this healthy habit in your day to day life.
Frequent use of antibiotic give birth to antibiotic resistance problem means the effectiveness of these medications reduces with their consistent use. As per one research report with frequent hand washing, one can prevent respiratory infections by 20% and diarrhea and its associated sicknesses by 30%.
By reducing the overuse of antibiotics by washing your hands on a frequent basis you can easily reduce the antibiotic resistance problem as a whole. Also, the regular hand-washing habit can protect you from getting sicknesses with certain germs that are resistant to antibiotics and whose treatments are very difficult.
Reduces the Number of Bacteria on Your hands
Harmful bacteria can easily stay longer (several days) on your hands and other objects which pave the way for contamination risk. In this condition, if you do not wash your hands properly with soap then these bacteria won’t die or remove on their own. Resulting in these active bacteria can easily enter inside your mouth and eyes causing serious infections.
Herein lies the importance of washing your hands on a more frequent basis. If your hands will remain cleaned and hygienic all the time no single bacteria can survive there even for a minute, hence there will be no risk of infection or its associated health issues. People who are addicted to biting their nails can be a greater victim of this type of infection if they do not clean the underneath areas of their nail properly while washing their hands.
Prevents Common Eye Infections Risks
Most of the eye infections are caused by bacteria and other germs that enter into your eyes via hand. These infections are sometimes mild and sometimes it persists for a longer duration, however, in all the cases these are very troublesome. Some common eyes infection that occurs as a result of direct contact with germs includes Stye, Keratitis, Conjunctivitis, and Blepharitis.
The easiest way to prevent these kinds of eye infection and to ensure full care and protection of your eye’s health is by avoiding touching your eyes with bare hands.
However, this idea is not so simple to implement in our day to days life, especially by little children. So to avoid this concern make sure that you wash your hands more frequently every day. When your hands will remain clean there will be no risk of bacteria or other germs direct contact in your eyes via your hands.
All these common eye infections grow with symptoms like itching sensation, redness in eyes, mild pain, and blurry vision. Though with treatment these issues can be handled well but prevention is always better than cure. So, prevent these problems simply by washing your hands properly and more frequently in your day to day life.
Prevents Spreading of Illnesses and Infections to Others
Washing your hands more frequently and thoroughly with soap helps in preventing many illnesses and spreading infections to others by keeping the health issue limited to the affected person, not to their caretakers.
People have a common tendency of touching their eyes, nose, and mouth thus germs can easily enter inside the body through these areas causing us sick. The only preventive measure to such kind of illnesses is by washing your hands every time when you needed to do so.
Also, germs can transfer from unwashed hands to foods while, cooking, serving or eating them. The worst part of this is that germs can easily multiply faster in certain foods or drinks. Hence when consumed by healthy people they easily get sick out of them.
Also, an unwashed hand can easily transfer germs on them to different objects by touching them and when these objects are used by adults or by minors make them easily ill or sick. These kinds of illnesses and infections can easily be prevented by incorporating healthy handwashing habits in daily life which not only protects a single person but everyone around them.
Prevents Respiratory Tract Infections
Respiratory tract infections are one of those most common forms of infections caused by the transfer of germs by an un-cleaned or unhygienic hand. Germs that exist in your bare hands can easily enter inside your body through your mouth if you use it without washing thoroughly with a soap or liquid hand-wash making your respiratory tract infected.
However, by removing germs through handwashing on a more frequent basis you can easily protect your body from getting affected with respiratory tract infections which can get chronic over the time if necessary treatment is provided on time. By regular washing your hands you can ensure the safety of yours as well as your family members from any kind of respiratory tract infection.
Protects Children Health
The importance of frequent hand washing habits for children is enormous because children are more susceptible to get a victim of illness and infections caused by harmful microorganisms that transfer through our hands into the body.
Every year a huge number of young children under age five, get severely infected and even die out of diarrhea and respiratory tract infections like pneumonia. This is really a very serious issue that occurs as a result of the low rate of hygienic practices followed by children and their caretakers. However, this health issue can be greatly reduced by implementing a healthy hygiene habit that is washing your hands regularly and more frequently.
In order to prevent such health risks for children, it is very crucial for parents to handle all kid’s belongings and their duties very hygienically by washing their hands so that germs would not transfer via their hands to inside children’s body.
Similarly, children should be taught well about the importance of handwashing every time when they use the washroom, touch any dirty object, etc. They must be taught to avoid touching their eyes, mouth or nose with their bare hands instead they should teach to use a clean handkerchief and washing hands every time they sneeze, cough, etc.
Handwashing Awareness can Improve Overall Community Health
People living in underdeveloped regions of countries or places where the rate of hygienic activities are very low are greater victims of sicknesses and infections caused by germs and bacteria that easily transfer from their hands to their bodies. So to stop the health hazard in these areas it is crucial to create awareness in these regions of any country.
This will not only protect the health of a limited group of people but protect the life of masses on a greater level as a single awareness program can teach the communities as a whole regarding the health benefits of washing hands in a more frequent manner. Also, they can guide how one should wash their hands and how to avoid spreading the infection to others.
Hand-washing education can improve the health of the community as a whole by remarkably reducing the number of sicknesses caused diarrhea, gastrointestinal infections, eye infections, skin infection, and respiratory tract infections.
Improves Workplace Environment
The importance of washing your hands regularly is not limited to improving and maintaining your good health but it also improves your performance and paves the path for promotion and success in your workplace. People who maintain hygiene by washing their hands on a more frequent basis give better performance at their workplace and along with a very good percentage of presence.
On the other hand, people who neglect to maintain this healthy habit in their day to day life easily get sick and infected leading to a high rate of absenteeism in their workplace and low grade of performance over there.
Here the duties of employers are also important to teach the importance and benefit of hand-washing on regular basis to employees as a whole by creating different awareness programs and spreading this message by posting the images of the right steps to washing hands in the washroom and their health benefits for individuals.
Also, all the objects and appliances used in the office place must be cleaned thoroughly every day so that there would be no risk of germ or bacteria spreading through those un-cleaned objects. Regular cleaning work can prevent these risks and protect the employees from getting sick at the same time improves the environment of the workplace which motivates everyone to give their hundred percent.
People who work in the healthcare departments like hospitals, diagnostic centers, etc. regular hand-washing is more crucial for them as they are dealing with sick people. So chances of spreading infections are quite likely in these places. In this regard, all the medical personnel should follow this healthy habit strictly and also teach the same to their patients or sick people as well as their caretakers who are dealing with sick family members.
How to Convey the Importance of Hand Washing to Young Children
While most adults should have no problem understanding the importance of hand washing, children don’t always understand the method or reasons. Use fun signs, children books and other creative ways to help them understand the importance of washing hands regularly
The above-mentioned list of importance of washing hands regularly simply describes how crucial and beneficial it is for every individual to incorporate this hygienic habit in their daily lifestyle and get benefited vastly out of it.
[expand title=”View Article Sources“]
- https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html
- https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/handwashing-why-its-important
- https://www.alsco.com.au/2017/07/benefits-proper-hand-washing/
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