12/02/2009 4:00 am
Life
Doctor's Orders: The Right Way to Wash Your Hands (Video)
Think you've got this hand-washing thing down pat? Think again. wOw turns to Dr. Laurence Harris for a few tips on keeping it clean.
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Washing your hands is the simplest thing you can do this cold and flu season to reduce your chances of getting sick. Colds and the flu are most often transmitted by our hands. We touch an object that has invisible droplets of viruses, and then we touch our eyes, nose or mouth. This kind of transmission accounts for 30 to 40 percent of infections. Cold and flu viruses can survive outside of the body for a length of time that varies from minutes to 48 hours. In general, flu viruses survive outside of the body longer than cold viruses and live longer on nonporous surfaces — such as wood, plastic or metal — than on porous surfaces such as cloth or paper. Bacterial diseases, including salmonella, E. coli and infectious diarrhea, may be spread the same way as viruses.
The mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth are portals of entry into the body for these organisms. A recent study at the University of California showed that students touched their eyes, nose or mouth at an average rate of 16 times per hour. Proper hand washing is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick. This simple habit requires only soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer — a cleanser that doesn’t require water. Do you know the benefits of good hand hygiene and when and how to wash your hands properly? Read on for more information.
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Despite the proven health benefits of hand washing, many people don’t practice this habit as often as they should — even after using the bathroom. Throughout the day you accumulate germs on your hands from a variety of sources. If you don’t wash your hands frequently enough, you can infect yourself with these germs by touching your eyes, nose or mouth. And you can spread disease to others by touching them or by touching surfaces that they also touch, such as telephones, doorknobs and handrails.
While most people will get over a cold, the flu can be much more serious. Seniors and those with chronic medical problems can develop pneumonia. The combination of the flu and pneumonia, in fact, is the eighth-leading cause of death in this country.
Inadequate hand hygiene also contributes to food-related illnesses, such as salmonella and E. coli infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as 76 million Americans get a food-borne illness each year. Of these, about 5,000 die as a result of their illness. Others experience the annoying signs and symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
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From having a son born and placed in intestive care and having cancer at the same time I learned a long time ago about washing my hands. I buy those pumis stones with the brush on the other side and have them (new ones) handy for all people who visit me. To keep them clean I put them through the dish washer every day to kill germs that could hang around. If for some reason I am not going to run the machine I’ll boil the stones to kill the bacteria.
Using on of them is like using the brushes the Docs use before surgery, only they last longer then one use.
Also I sufer from extreme IBS and spend a lot of time in my throne room so I needed something that would do the job and not cost an arm and a leg.
Just a helpful hint, and yes I checked it out with my doctors and they thought it was a great idea and easy safe way to keep the germs low. Economical as well.
Wash your hands, including scrubbing under nails, while singing all of the ABC’s (the appropriate length of hand-washing time).
The problem with this, though, is that we can’t get children to scrub under nails and we can’t get adults to sing the ABC’s.
In medical teaching, utilizing scientific principles made procedural adherance easier for students to grasp — Re "hand cleanliness…" When using anything absorbent to turn off faucets (paper towel, cotton, etc), remember that pathogens (germs) pass through wet surfaces, so don’t use paper, or thin toweling. Instead, put a dollop of hand sanitizer or soft-soap on a wad of something and use that to turn off the faucet, and open the door - it pays to check out public restrooms before using them, too.
Secondly, hand sanitizers must contain 60% alcohol - read the label; however, some organisms encapsulate when they are exposed to alcohol, so think about the purpose for using hand santizers first, and look for another option, such as carrying white vinegar in a small ampule of spray bottle to use for that purpose, using the same amount cut 1/2 with water. It cost less, too.
I have always been a hand-washer, but I have never seen a standard for it before. I appreciate the info on hand sanitizers too.
Looks like the thread got scrubbed as well. Refreshing.