Hand hygiene saves lives” is a slogan used in a campaign by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to encourage proper hand hygiene in the healthcare setting. However, exercising proper hand hygiene in a home, school, or work environment can save lives as well. Less dramatically it can also save inconvenience by helping to avoid catching a cold or flu.
Step 1: Use clean running water to wet both hands. Try to use warm water if possible.
Step 2: Apply a liberal amount of soap to your hands.
Step 3: Rub your hands together to form a nice lather.
Step 4: Scrub all surfaces of the hands with the soap lather.
Step 5: Continue rubbing your hands together for 20 seconds … yes TWENTY seconds! Encourage small children to sing the alphabet and it will be about 20 seconds.
Step 6: Rinse hands well under warm running water. Make sure to remove all soap residue.
Step 7: Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet and open the bathroom door.
Keeping your hands clean is the best way to prevent catching illnesses. Hands should be disinfected before meals, after using the restroom, changing a diaper, touching animals, dressing a wound, changing your contacts, and/or whenever they look dirty. If somebody in your household is sick, everyone should wash their hands more often.
If soap and water are unavailable, hand sanitizing gels, sprays, and wipes are just as effective if they contain a sufficient amount of alcohol. A hand sanitizer containing less than 60% alcohol is completely ineffective. When using a hand sanitizer gel make sure to rub your hands together until they are completely dry, usually about 15 seconds.
