By Hugo Elliot
It doesn’t matter where you work, the importance of handwashing cannot be relegated. It has vital importance in setups like hospitals and hotels. Keeping your hands clean by washing them in the right duration stops germs from spreading. The best part is that hand washing is easy and you can do it anywhere you are without any hassle.
Why it is important to wash your hands?
Through hands, we touch various surfaces that contain dirt, germs, and viruses. Without proper handwashing, these germs can get in your body and cause diseases and cross-contamination.
Sadly, there are people who don’t follow the proper handwashing steps which cause a lot of diseases like diarrhea, food poisoning, viral fever, etc.
Here are the seven steps of handwashing:
The seven steps of handwashing are advised by the NHS and the recommended time for handwashing should at least be 20 seconds.
Step 1 – Wet your hands – Wet your hands and apply antiseptic soap generously to make good lather. The temperature of the water used for handwashing should be optimally between 35 to 45 degrees.
Steps 2 – Rub your palms – Taking soap, rub your hands together in circular motions. Switch it between the clockwise and anticlockwise directions.
Steps 3 – Back of your hands – Keeping your fingers linked with other hands, rub the back of your left hand with the right palm and vice versa.
Step 4 – Interlinking the fingers – Link all your fingers together and clasp your hands. Then rub your fingers and palm altogether.
Step 5- Fingers cupping – Cup your fingers together with your left hand under your right hand. Keeping your fingers interlocked, rub their back against your palm then switch.
Step 6 – Clean your thumb – Keeping your right thumb enclosed in your left hand, clean it by rubbing. After sometime switch.
Step 7- Clean your palm with fingers – Clean your palms by rubbing your fingers over your left palm in a rotatory motion and then switch.
These steps should be properly followed in order to prevent all kinds of diseases and illnesses. After following all these steps, you should rinse your hands with warm water and should dry them with a paper towel which you can dispose of easily. If you have access, you can also use automatic hand dryers but make sure that you don’t touch any part of it with your hand as you will risk transferring the bacteria again on your hands. You should also prevent a reusable towel to dry your hands as it can also make the germs to transfer back on your hands. After cleaning your hands, if you need to turn off the tap, you should use a disposable paper towel that is both hygienic and clean.
