“Clean hands save lives” says CDC in handwashing reminder
Chris Whieldon
Designer and manufacturer of portable handwash units for medical facilities, catering, motor vehicles, care homes and home care, the beauty industry and schools and nurseries.
Its one of the best ways to help prevent illness
It’s vital that everyone should ensure that they learn how and when to wash their hands properly in order to protect themselves and others from a raft of very unpleasant illnesses, advises the?Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?(CDC).?
The advice is just as relevant to every kind of community, whether it’s a?school,?workplace,?medical facility,?care home?or family group.
Germs can spread by touching surfaces, or from person to person says the guidance. Hand washing can?“prevent the spread of respiratory and diarrheal infections”, which occurs when touching your eyes, nose and mouth, or preparing food and / or eating it with unwashed hands.
Therefore, handwashing should also take place before eating, preparing food, treating a wound and so on. It should be undertaken after, for example, blowing your nose, using the toilet, handling pets or farm animals and changing nappies.
Five handwashing steps
“Washing your hands is easy, and it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs”?advises the CDC, which advocates carrying out diligently five key steps during a soap and water wash – not forgetting the 20 second rule. It’s important to wash thoroughly for at least 20 seconds.
Hand sanitisers (containing at least 60% alcohol) can be used when soap and water isn’t an option: they work reasonably well in certain circumstances, but not all the time. They are largely ineffective with norovirus for example.
“Washing hands with soap and water is the best way to get rid of germs in most situations.”