In light of the coronavirus pandemic, it is essential to wash your hands to combat the spread. Plus, the cold and flu season warrants for proper hand hygiene to keep the infections at bay. Your family can accumulate germs, dirt, bacteria, and viruses by touching other people and objects. Here are crucial hand hygiene tips that your loved ones can deploy to boost their hands’ cleanliness.

Wash Hands Regularly

It is crucial to wash your hands several times during the day to combat flu and other diseases. The critical times include after doing activities such as visiting the toilet, handling garbage, and changing diapers. Most importantly, your family needs to clean hands before doing things such as eating meals, touching the face, dressing wounds, and preparing food. Keep hand sanitizer available for times that soap and water are not possible. 

Also, when your palms look visibly dirty, you need to wash them to uphold your hand hygiene. If you wear contact lenses, you should clean your hands before handling them. This way, you won’t transfer the germs and dirt to your eyes, leading to swelling and itching.

Use Soap and Running Water

Any type of soap is essential for removing microbes on your skin. On that account, you shouldn’t be worried if you don’t have antibacterial soaps. Just ensure that you use a sufficient amount to get rid of germs. Also, apply the soap on the palm and upper part so that you can rub them with sheer simplicity.

You can use either cold or warm water to rinse the soap provided it’s from a tap. The temperature doesn’t matter since they both work ideally.

Wash Hands for At Least 20 Seconds

You need to apply soap and scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds for incredible results. It will help to clear all microorganisms on your hands seamlessly. You can set a timer that can assist you in achieving the required time. Alternatively, you can sing the happy birthday song twice to complete the 20 seconds.

Essentially, hand washing should entail scrubbing all surfaces, including your palms, wrists, and back of your hands. It would help if you also worked on your fingernails and between your fingers. When you thoroughly wash your hands, you will be free from microbes that cause the flu and colds.

Assist Children to Wash Hands

Kids are vulnerable to germs since they touch several things inside and outside your home. Therefore, you need to help them wash their hands so that they can remain healthy. You can make it fun by asking them to sing the happy birthday song in the process. Plus, if the kids can’t reach the sink, give them a stool to step on it.

Ensure that you supervise the whole exercise so that your child’s hands can be clean. Also, please encourage your children to wash their hands regularly and during vital times. Before they eat their food, make sure that their hands are clean. After they go to the toilet, tell your kids to wash their hands too. It will become a routine, and they will get accustomed to the activity.

Use Disposable Paper Towels

Hand hygiene also goes beyond washing to drying your hands. Disposable paper towels are the best since you won’t reuse them. Plus, family members should avoid using hot air hand dryers since they aren’t ideal. This way, microbes won’t disperse to the air, infecting other people in the house.

Ensure that you dry your hands properly before proceeding to eat. Alternatively, you can use a hand towel that you don’t share with other family members. You only need to wash it regularly since it accumulates dirt and germs as well. Remember always to moisturize your hands since microorganisms enter through cracked skin.