Washing your hands
While things in our general everyday life appear to be white, polished and clean, more often than not, the surfaces that provide these appearances can be completely covered with bacteria. The most important way to protect your family from getting sick is to make sure that washing your hands is a common practice and routine, especially before consuming food.
Washing your hands is very easy to do and remains one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infectious diseases that are likely to cause sickness in your household or workplace. Germs can be stopped from spreading from one person to the other through the effective washing of hands. In fact, the prevention of infections throughout entire local communities can be reduced when hand washing practice is good. This type of community knowledge is also reliant on awareness and targeted campaigns are often provided, especially when winter is approaching.
Did you want to know an interesting fact about germs? One single gram of human faeces can contain as many as one trillion germs! The best way to stop the spread of germs in the first place is to make sure that you wash your hands, and with one trillion germs at the door step, is is especially important to remember to complete this hygienic process every time after going to the bathroom. Otherwise, you will not only put yourself at risk, but anyone else who comes into contact with food or items that you have handled.
Some people might be amazed to hear it, but there is definitely a right way (or at least more effective way) to wash your hands. Basically, hand washing can be broken down into 5 easy steps
- Wet your hands
- Lather with soap, remembering to include the back of your hands, under nails and between fingers
- Scrub for at least twenty seconds
- Rinse with running water
- Dry your hands, either by air drying or using a clean disposable towel
Foodsafety.gov devotes a complete website to helping people understand how we can keep food safe and who’s at risk and a very good source of general food safety information.
Washing hands