Hand hygiene -- clean hands, healthy body
Date: 19.12.2011
Our hands are one of the chief ways we interact with our environment. Think about what you touch daily - doors, desks, food, other people, pets. Hundreds or thousands of other people have often touched the things we touch, and most of them have hands that are not sterile. People with colds or sore throats touch their mouth and nose, picking up the infectious agents on their hands. Then they transfer the infectious bacteria or virus to the surfaces they touch. Next we come along and get the germs on our own hands, touch our eyes, nose or mouth and soon are infected ourselves.
Here are some simple rules to reduce the risk to you and your family:
1. Wash hands before food preparation and after handling raw meat or fish.
2. Wash hands after using the bathroom.
3. Wash or sanitize hands before touching your eyes, nose or mouth in case you have infectious agents on your hands.
4. Wash hands after handling garbage, dirty diapers, dirty laundry.
5. Wash or sanitize hands before and after any medical contact, such as, cleaning a wound or changing a dressing or caring for a sick child.
6. If you have a cough or cold, wash or sanitize your hands after sneezing or coughing or blowing your nose to reduce the spread of germs to surfaces where others can pick them up. Ideally, cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm, not your hands.
