IMPORTANCE OF WASHING THE HAND

While there are some who do not believe they can contact germs if they refuse washing their hands, don’t listen to such people! Infections are real and can cause serious health problems. One of the surest ways to avoid contacting germs is by properly washing your hands whenever you finish doing any of the following: attending to your pets, whenever you finish making use of the toilet, before preparing food, before you eat and after finishing your meal. Many other activities require washing your hand and all these boils down to keeping you healthy.

You should not just wash your hands with water only; rather use warm tap water and soap. Pour a little warm water on your hands to make it wet, then apply soap (liquid preferably) and wash your hands well for 15-20 seconds. The washing should take longer if the dirt is deep rooted; the washing should not be less than ten seconds. Take time in washing your hands and do not rush; remember also to wash under your fingernails, the back of your hands and your wrist. If you are putting on a ring or wearing a wrist watch, do well to remove them before washing because microorganisms can be hiding under them. Ensure that all traces of soaps are wiped out by rinsing your hands properly, then use a dry paper towel to dry your hands. If putting on a ring, make sure you dry underneath it as germs can easily accumulate under it if it remains wet. Regular washing of hands helps you in fighting against organisms that spreads diseases and causes infections. It is also important that you properly dry your hands after washing them.
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Each of your family members should have their own individual towel for cleaning hands after washing and they should wash the towels often. Even though you can still use cold water to wash your hands, you should endeavour to use warm water, as it tends to remove easily the active constituents found on the surface of soaps and kills germs easier than cold water. When using bar soap at home, ensure that you keep it in a soap holder to avoid it sitting in a pool of water and do well to make use of a new soap when you notice cracks on the one you are currently using.

WHAT TYPE OF SOAP SHOULD YOU USE?

Soaps are made with ingredients that help to weaken the germs on your hands and make water soft so that it would be easier for you to foam your hands. In choosing the type of soap to use, liquid soaps has advantage over bar soaps, as it is the best when it comes to keeping the hands clean especially in your work place. Liquid soaps are hygienic than bar soaps because it is hardly contaminated. Bar soaps comes with its own problems especially when used in public places; how?

i.                   Bar soaps might be left in water for long, making it vulnerable and open to various harmful germs.

ii.                   No individual will like to use a bar soap if they find it in water.

iii.                  If a soap (likely bar soap) gets contaminated, then it will not likely act much as a cleansing agent but rather acts as a germ spreading agent, making it lose its essence of cleansing the hands against germs.

iv.                 Bar soaps have the tendency to dry out, especially when left under the sun making it hard to lather.

v.                   When a bar soap dries out, it is likely to develop cracks which can house filth and bacteria, making the soap lose its original essence of removing germs. 

Well, in as much as you wash your hands regularly, there are other things you need to do in order to fully protect yourself from infections. You should take care of your skin, even after washing it, as the skin is the perfect protection against infections. After drying your hands, ensure that you take an extra step in taking care of your hands by applying a moist hand cream several times a day, if possible, four times or more, depending on how long you dip your hands in water daily. When washing plates and other kitchen utensils, make sure you use gloves to protect them. When you are busy removing weeds around your building or you are planting in your garden, you should endeavour to wear hand gloves to stop soils and other dirty particles from growing up in your finger and your hands.
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To conclude, you should consult your doctor whenever you have a skin irritation. Now that you have known the importance of washing hands regularly, do not just read this article and pass by. Take action now! If you wash your hands regularly and properly, then you are doing yourself good because washing hands regularly helps protect you from various types of disease. You can read how to keep youfinger nails clean and why you should stop keeping long nails.

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