Preventing Disease is Easy: Wash Your Hands

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) hand washing is the single most important thing you can do to prevent the spread of disease. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that up to 80% of infections are spread by hands. Bacteria and viruses can live on surfaces for around 20 minutes to 2 hours. When you touch the object you can collect these bacteria or viruses on your hands, further transferring and spreading these germs to all surfaces you consequently touch. 

Washing you hands well and often is a great way to reduce the spread of disease. 

Wash your hands: 

• Before and after you eat
• Before during and after preparing food
• After touching raw meat or eggs
• After you sneeze, blow your nose or cough 
• After using the restroom
• After diapering or helping a child in the restroom
• After caring for someone who is sick like wiping a child's nose
• After treating a cut or wound
• After handling garbage
• After touching an animal or their waste products

Correct hand washing technique:

• Get a paper towel ready.
• Wet hands with warm running water
• Apply soap and work up a lather
• Rub hands together with care to clean the palms, backs of hands, under fingernails, between fingers and webs as well as your thumbs, up to your wrists) Washing with these motions should take at least 20 seconds (sing Happy Birthday twice-this will also help you remember who is having a birthday next)
• If you wear a ring, wash it
• Rinse with clear running water
• Dry hands with paper towel (water is still running)
• Turn off the water with a paper towel (since you just touched the faucet with your dirty hands)
• Open door with paper towel
• Deposit paper towel in hands free trash can
  

If you don't have access to running water and or soap, you can use an alcohol based sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Be sure to rub between fingers, under fingernails and on the backs of your hands. Use enough sanitizer to wet your hands for at least 15 seconds. Hand sanitizers won't remove any visible dirt and you should always use soap and water before preparing food. 

If you wear gloves to protect your hands during certain tasks, you will still need to wash your hands after removing the gloves since there is a still a chance your hands may have been contaminated. 

Other ways to reduce the spread of germs are to sneeze or cough into your elbow rather than into your hands as well as avoiding touching you eyes, nose and mouth with your hands though out the day.