Apr 10, 2023
1012
Health
Hand washing is still important
It’s official — in April 2023, President Joe Biden signed a bill ending the coronavirus national emergency that was first declared in March 2020. We learned many lessons from COVID-19, and one habit that was hopefully drilled in — good handwashing procedures — should not disappear.
The importance of hand hygiene beyond COVID
Hand hygiene has always been important in healthcare settings, long before anyone ever heard the word “COVID.” There’s a great reason for that. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that clean hands can prevent 1 in 3 diarrheal illnesses and 1 in 5 respiratory infections. If you have had a stomach bug or flu recently, that’s a great motivation.
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Expert advice on good handwashing habits
In the hospital or healthcare setting, staff is vigilant about using hand sanitizer or washing hands before and after each patient contact. At home, you might not need to wash your hands close to 100 times a day as some medical staff do, but you should still be practicing it at these very important times, according to Dr. Christopher Snyder, chief quality officer at TidalHealth:
- Before, during, and after preparing food
- Before and after eating food
- Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick (especially with vomiting or diarrhea)
- Before and after treating a cut or wound
- After using the toilet
- After changing diapers or helping a child use the toilet
- After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
- After touching an animal, animal feed or waste
- After handling pet food or treats
- After touching garbage
“Some of these seem obvious, but if you’re not in the habit, you could be exposing yourself to far more germs than necessary,” Snyder said.
Steps for effective handwashing
To stop germs, take these five steps each time:
- Wet your hands with clean, running water, turn off the tap and apply soap.
- Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails.
- Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds (Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice to make sure you’re doing it long enough).
- Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
- Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dryer.
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