Stop the spread of Germs

It’s good for your health!

There are a few things we can all do to stop the spread of germs in our homes and in our environment.  First is hand washing, next is hand awareness and the third is cleaning in places may never consider.

Hand Washing

We all know that we should wash our hands and we all know when it needs to be done.  But do we do it?  Not always, and we don’t always do it right.  The steps to correctly wash our hands go like this:

• Wet your hands.
• Apply soap and rub together to lather.  THEN continue scrubbing your hands, between your fingers, your fingernails – everything! – for at least 15 seconds.  That’s longer than it sounds.  Try saying the ABC’s at a normal rate of speaking or singing Happy Birthday to get an idea of how long you should really be washing.
• Dry your hands thoroughly with a soft towel.
• Turn off the water handles using the towel or your elbows.  Remember, your hands were dirty when you turned on the faucet!

Hand Awareness

Beyond washing our hands correctly, we can benefit from just being more aware of where we put our hands throughout the day.  Think about these four tips.

• Wash your hands when they are dirty and BEFORE eating
• DO NOT cough into your hands
• DO NOT sneeze into your hands
• Above all, DO NOT put your fingers into your eyes, nose or mouth

 

Cleaning

When was the last time you took a dab of cleaner to the door knobs in your home or the remote control for the TV?  How about the handle on the refrigerator door?  All of these places get many touches throughout the day and if you have several people living in your home, the chance of spreading germs grows with each touch.  Use a handy disinfecting cloth to do a quick wipe down once per day.  A few minutes of cleaning could prevent your next cold.