1. Some Facts About Hand Hygiene
When somebody says that they have got to hand it to you, they are probably not talking about
germs, but the odds are that germs is what they will be handing to you. When you think of the
amount of filth hands pick up in the span of five minutes, never mind in the course of a day, you
begin to realize how important hand hygiene is, and how necessary it is to wash your hands
often. Imagine how many times you avoid touching anything you think may have germs. When
you leave your seat at a restaurant to use the washroom, you wash your hands, you turn off the
faucet using a paper towel, you exit the washroom by pushing the door open with a paper towel,
and when you cough, you cough into the crook of your elbow. Then you pull out a wad of money
to pay your bill. The germs on your money have just negated all of the steps you took to remain
sanitary.
Of course, germs love the shelter of your fingernails. If you keep your hands as clean as
possible, you should be sure that your fingernails are clean and well maintained as well.
Otherwise, you are wasting your time. During the flu season you, if you are a fingernail biter,
you must break that habit if you want to have a chance of avoiding the flu.
The proper way to wash your hands is to wash them in the hottest water you can stand. People
often are not sure how long they should wash their hands, but if you sing the happy birthday
song twice while washing, that should be long enough. If there is not a air dryer for your hands,
you should pat them dry on a paper towel. The reason for this is that when you rub your hands,
you are bringing scores of germs to the surface. Staying healthy while everyone around you
is becoming sick is not easy, but if you keep your hands properly sanitized, you should have a
better chance at remaining healthy.