It’s Global Handwashing Day
We practice everyday for this!
C’mon… give us a hand to celebrate and build awareness of Global Handwashing Day – today, the 15th of October.
It’s a great time to remind the folk around you, especially kids, about the importance of clean hands.
There’s lots of information about Global Handwashing Day and this website has some nice posters to download.
Have You Washed Your Hands Today?
Making an event out of something that seems so routine is a good thing when it comes to the truth about how often people wash up and the risks to public health.
Turns out the observed rates of hand washing with soap at critical times, such as using the toilet, cleaning a child’s bottom, and before handling food, in industrialised and developing nations, ranges from zero to 34 percent.
That’s not very much.
In general, lack of hand washing directly contributes to the spread of diseases that put many people – especially young ones — at risk, which is why Global Handwashing Day was established in 2008 and focuses on encouraging children to wash their hands and showing them the best way to do it.
Simple as it sounds, cleaning your hands effectively takes a lot more than a squirt of soap and a dash under the tap.
The best way to wash up is to get some soap on your hands and rub them together, both sides, paying particular attention to the nooks and crannies around your fingernails and vigorously rinsing them with water. The whole process should take at least 20-30 seconds in order to dislodge all the nasties.
Apparently, size matters when it comes to germs and friction is the best way to dislodge them.
“Guru of Hand Washing” Barry Michaels, who has over 40 years experience in the field of infectious disease investigation, control and prevention, says, “The smaller the pathogen, the more easily trapped in the cracks and creases of our epidermis…. Multiple studies indicate that in addition to surfactant action, friction (good old fashioned elbow grease) at the rinsing stage is perhaps the most critical period of hand washing in its ability to dislodge viruses from skin surfaces. That said, you only have so many highly aggressive hand washings a day to remove viruses before hands begin to dry out and become sore, even when using the gentlest of soaps.”
Which is why it may pay to have some hand sanitiser around. If contact dermatitis or sensitive skin is an issue for you, many dermatologists recommend hand sanitisers as an effective alternative – in particular, alcohol-free, foaming sanitisers are still powerful enough to kill germs and moist enough to prevent dry skin. Contact your local CrestClean office to find out more about our excellent new Foaming Hand Sanitiser.
Healthy, clean hands – that’s the biz.
