Every single day, we encounter millions of germs on just about every surface we touch. If you touch these surfaces and then bring them up to your face or even when you eat with your hands, you risk getting sick. Since it’s basically impossible to avoid these surfaces, the only way to prevent this and reduce your chances of getting sick is washing your hands regularly. It may seem like a simple task, but it has a great importance.
Why Is It Important to Wash Your Hands?
Protect your family’s health
Why is it important to wash hands? For starters, flu season is here—every year, a new strain of the flu comes around and shows us just how bad it can get. That also means more and more people around you will be getting sick.
You and your family are constantly exposed to germs through the many surfaces you touch and the people around you. One of the easiest ways to keep yourself and your family safe is by washing hands regularly throughout the day.
How to wash your hands effectively
Whether you’re leaving the restroom or preparing food, it’s important that your hands are clean and free of harmful bacteria or viruses. It takes more than running them under water for a few seconds with a little bit of soap.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are strict steps to properly washing your hands:
- Start with cold or warm water to rinse your hands and apply soap.
- Rub your hands together, making sure to get every section, like the backs of your hands, fingertips, and between your fingers.
- Lather your hands in soap for at least 20 seconds or about the time it takes you to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice.
- Rinse all the soap off your hands.
- Dry using a clean towel or allow to air dry.
It’s easy to get sick
You should consider no surface safe from harmful bacteria and/or viruses. Everybody interacts with everyone, and it becomes very easy for things to spread. The disturbing truth is that the majority of illnesses are caused by people not washing their hands after using the restroom.
If people washed their hands like they should, it would reduce the number of diarrhea-related illnesses by 58% and respiratory illnesses like the cold by 21%. Those statistics spare no one, since 1.8 million children younger than five years old die every year from preventable diseases related to not washing hands.
Another horrifying truth about hand washing is that the majority of people think they are doing it correctly when they are, in fact, not. The majority of people use water to rinse their hands off after using the restroom, but unfortunately, very few use soap.
Stay Healthy with Las Vegas Urgent Care
Getting your flu shots each year, along with proper hand washing, can help you avoid getting sick this flu season. Schedule an appointment today to receive your flu shot and get a check up with Las Vegas Urgent Care.
