Washing your hands prevents infections and saves lives

Washing your hands seems like a simple task, but we do not always do it correctly. Something as simple as turning on the tap and using soap would prevent one in four deaths cause by respiratory infections in children and would reduce by half the number of children under five who die from diarrhea.

Washing your hands regularly, making sure they are completely clean, is undoubtedly the best way to reduce the amount of microbes on them. In addition, the spread of germs that cause common illnesses is prevented, such as colds, abdominal pain or skin and eye infections.

When to wash your hands?

According to the Center for Disease Prevention and Control should be done in the following situations:

– Before eating  

– Before, during and after:  

– prepare food

– take care of someone who is sick

– treating wounds or cuts

After:  

– using the bathroom

– changing diapers or cleaning a child who has used the bathroom  

– blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing

– having touched animals, animal feed or animal excrement  

– touching the garbage

How to wash your hands correctly?

The recommendation of the specialists, for children and adults, is to carry out a technique of hand washing, which is carried out quickly and easily following four steps:

1. Rinse your hands with warm, clean water until your wrists.

2. Rub the palms vigorously (preferably with liquid soap), the fingers, nails and wrists of both hands, at least 20 seconds.

3. Rinse with plenty of water.

4. Dry them with a clean and dry towel. If you do not have a towel, shake them until they dry. We must remember that before washing our hands, any item that we might be wearing, rings, bracelets, etc. must be removed. Soap does not have to be antibacterial.

Hand sanitizer

If you do not have water or soap on hand, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. They quickly reduce the amount of germs in your hands even though they do not eliminate all types of germs.

How to apply the hand sanitizer?

-Apply the product in the palm of one hand and rub it with the other (the amount will depend on the manufacturer).

-Distribute the disinfectant on all surfaces of the hands and fingers until dry.

Apps for kids, washing your hands is fun!

Sometimes teaching children how to wash their hands and how to acquire good personal hygiene habits isn’t easy, for this reason we share some apps that will facilitate this task.

–Tork and SCA, a hygiene and paper products company, have developed an app to explain children how they should wash their hands in a fun way, “Ella’s adventure to wash her hands”. The app can be used both at home and in schools. It is intuitive and has no written text, so the younger kids can use it.

– “Clara City” is an app that shows children how to cross the street, acquire personal hygiene habits, identify objects of everyday life, etc. Recommended for children between 2 and 6 years old.

– “The world of Teo” tries to reinforce learning in a fun and interactive way in different subjects: language, personal hygiene habits, knowledge of the environment, etc. –

Tales of Gus is a collection of six interactive stories that help you teach your children to face the situations that arise during childhood. Children are taught to understand the concept of cleaning and grooming.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), washing hands correctly involved washing for at least 20 seconds. This practice would avoid half of the 3.5 million deaths of children under the age of five that are registered every year in the world. Studies show that hand washing is one of the most effective, simple and economical ways to prevent disease.