Scrub in the right places and do it for long enough, to stay clean.
It’s the flu season. Washing your hands regularly should be a priority at all times, and when winter comes and brings sickness with it, you want to make sure it’s at the top of your list. How should you be doing it, and when are the best times to clean up?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is a whole list of times that are best to wash your hands. You should always wash with soap after using the toilet, (a no-brainer, of course), after changing diapers and helping a child who has used the toilet, before and after preparing food, and before and after caring for someone who is sick.
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It’s also a good practice to wash your hands before and after treating a wound, after blowing your nose and sneezing, after coughing, after breathing (just kidding), after touching animals and handling pet food and after taking out the trash.
You may need to watch your technique, to get it right. Experts recommend that you wet your hands, apply soap, lather, scrub the front and backs of your hands, in between your fingers and under your nails, and then rinse under running water. Dry your hands on a clean towel or let them air dry.
And one of the key factors that matters when striving to scrub off the germs is time. Not sure how long to scrub? About 20 seconds. Sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to yourself, twice. You’re done!
