Last updated on June 16th, 2024 at 04:24 pm
It’s that time of year again! The cold and flu season is just around the bend! But we can protect our family by teaching them one simple thing- Washing their hands.
Yes it really is that simple. You can keep most the germs at bay by everyone keeping a good hand washing routine. That means developing good habits about washing hands before or after high “contamination” situations. Does your family wash their hands at all these times?
When to wash your hands:
- First thing when you return home from any outing (don’t bring those germs into the house)
- After you use the toilet
- Before eating a meal or snack
- Before,during and after preparing food
- After being around someone who is sick
- After touching animals
- Before treating any boo boos
- After coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose*
*Learn to cough or sneeze into your elbow, it helps prevent the spread of germs best. When you cough into your hand germs can spread nearly 10 feet (not to mention if you don’t wash your hands and touch everything) Germs can also spread about 5 feet with a tissue and contaminate your hand pretty bad. Need to see a visual? Watch this clip of Mythbusters to see their test of sneezing techniques.
How to Wash your hands:
- Wet your hands under running water
- Apply soap
- Rub them for 20 seconds
- Rinse them under running water
- Dry hands using a clean towel*
*Make sure to replace hand towels every day or two depending on how often it’s used, how many people are using it throughout the day and how it’s stored (hanging it up allows it to dry, lying crumpled on the counter allows it to stay wet and breed bacteria. Make sure it hangs on a hook to dry between uses. Replace kitchen and the main bathroom towels daily.)
Do your kids have a hard time washing their hands long enough? Many kids are so busy, ready to get back to playing, that they don’t take the proper amount of time to wash their hands. And who can blame them, there is so much to go do! Practice with your child washing their hands for 20 seconds. Teach them to sing twinkle twinkle little star two times or even set a timer like this musical soap pump timer that you can fit onto any bottle of soap.
So protect your family from unwanted germs by washing your hands frequently. Good health to you!
