If you were told that in just 30 seconds you could save a life, would you? I hope so, because that is all that it takes when you practice proper hand washing.
It’s not hard, a hassle or even an inconvenience; just wash your hands! Evidence shows that hand hygiene is the single most important method of preventing infections.
When done properly, hand washing is like a "do-it-yourself" vaccine. It involves five simple and effective steps:
Wet
Lather – this means use soap!
Scrub
Rinse
Dry
Regular hand washing is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs to others. It's quick, it's simple, and it can keep us all from getting sick.
You would be hard pressed to find a person over the age of three that doesn’t know that hand washing is important. And for crying out loud, how many of you still DON’T use soap when you wash your hands?
Stop being that person that pretends to wash their hands in public washrooms by just simply doing a quick rinse under the water… that doesn’t remove dirt or bacteria, it just makes you feel better about yourself while you continue to spread germs… YUK!
Did you know that only 5% of people wash their hands long enough to destroy infectious germs after using the bathroom1. Double gross! You must actually vigorously scrub your hands with soap to remove the germs. The dirt doesn’t instantly dissolve upon contact with soap. Often the act of rubbing and rinsing off the germs is what cleans our hands.
Quite frankly, I can’t believe we are still talking about this. Take the 30 seconds, wash your hands WITH SOAP and do yourself and everyone you come in contact with a favour. No one likes getting sick and for some it is life threatening; stop being lazy and lather up!