Give your health a holiday gift with frequent handwashing

We learn how to wash our hands at a young age. There’s a good reason for that: Regular handwashing prevents illness. To maximize the benefits, though, you must wash your hands correctly.

Yes, there’s a right way and a wrong way to wash your hands—and, sadly, many of us aren’t always giving our best effort. Brush up on the basics of handwashing below.

Why washing your hands well matters

Handwashing is the cornerstone of illness prevention. Many viruses, bacteria, and other germs enter the body through the hands.

During the day, you come in contact with these germs floating through the air and on surfaces around you. Airborne particles can simply float into your mouth or nose or you can inhale them, but many of them end up in the body because you touched the germs and then touched your face.

It can be challenging to remember not to touch your face with unwashed hands, so it’s best to wash your hands often throughout the day. Viruses and bacteria can also enter your body if you prepare food or eat with unwashed hands, making handwashing before cooking or eating another essential.

You should also wash your hands:

• After touching an animal, animal food or animal waste
• After touching garbage
• After using the bathroom or changing a diaper
• After you cough, sneeze or blow your nose even into a tissue
• Before and after caring for someone who is sick
• Before and after caring for a wound or cut

Washing your hands in each of these scenarios can help you limit the spread of germs. It’s essential to wash your hands before, during and after preparing food this holiday season—nobody needs a case of holiday food poisoning!

The dos and don’ts of correctly washing your hands

When you’re in a hurry, it may seem enough to simply run your hands under water after using the restroom or before eating. Is it worth the risk? Probably not.

To protect yourself from illness, practice proper handwashing with these five steps:

Wet your hands with clean running water—warm or cold. After wetting hands, turn off the faucet and apply soap. The type of soap doesn’t matter—the antibacterial soaps you can buy at the store aren’t any more effective than regular soap.

Suds up your hands. Rub your hands together to create a lather, making sure to touch all the surfaces of your hands. Be sure soapy water hits the backs of your hands and palms between your fingers and under your nails.

Scrub for at least 20 seconds. Need a cue to remember how long you should wash? Two times through the Happy Birthday song should do it.

Rinse your hands. Turn the sink back on, then rinse your hands using clean, running water.

Dry your hands. Once your hands are clean, dry them using an air dryer, a clean towel or a paper towel.

If you don’t have access to water and soap, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer instead. Choose a sanitizer made with at least 60% alcohol.

Apply the sanitizer to your hands, hitting all the surfaces mentioned as “suds areas” above. Rub your hands together for at least 20 seconds.

While sanitizer will do in a pinch, washing your hands with soap and water is a good idea when you have access again. Using soap and water will ensure your hands are properly and thoroughly clean.

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