ABC's of Hand Washing Even though you think you're washing your hands properly, are you actually? We're going to go over the basics to make sure everyone's on the same page. Since hand washing is the most effective way to remove pathogens from our hands and keep ourselves and others healthy, it is essential that it is implemented into everyone’s daily hygiene regimen. The average person comes in contact with 60,000 different types of germs each day. However, just 5% of people actually wash their hands long enough to kill the harmful bacteria. A third of people do not wash their hands with soap after using the washroom. 10% of people do not wash their hands at all-with men being the biggest offenders. Although effective hand washing takes only 20 seconds, the average person only takes 6 seconds to wash their hands. There are approximately 1 500 germs on each square centimeter of your hands at any given time. Although soap and water does not kill bacteria, it causes them to "slide" off your hands, so washing for 20 seconds is essential. If you do not properly remove them, they will continue to grow and reproduce at a rate that soon exceeds the amount of bacteria that was on your hands in the first place. Although it is often assumed that the largest amount of germs spread through airborne methods such as coughing and sneezing, the majority of them are actually transferred through direct hand-to-hand or indirect hand-to-object contact. The average person touches 30 objects each minute, each of them covered in harmful germs and pathogens. Thus, hand washing is not only important for an individual, but the community around us.
Everyone is in contact with harmful bacteria everyday, however not everyone takes the preventative measures they should to ensure they stay healthy. Although hand washing is frequently promoted, there is still more work to be done and the statistics show it. Even though some people do everything they can to stay germ free, it is the people that carry large amounts of bacteria on their hands that infect us all. It is important to maximize the amount of people that wash their hands frequently as this will ensure a safer, healthier community. Essentially, in order to create a cleaner environment, everyone needs to participate in the preventative measures suggested to ensure a healthier community. You should pay attention to this. The most commonly missed spots when hand washing are conveniently the spots that have the most bacteria. Hmmm.. there's something wrong here. We've come up with 11 simple steps to help you clean these missed spots and reduce the amount of harmful bacteria living on your hands. Bacteria grow and double in number every 20 minutes. This means that when these spots are missed, the bacteria spread and replicate at a rate that soon exceeds the amount of bacteria that was on your hands in the first place. In order to actually have clean hands, it is essential to take time to wash them properly. What most people don't understand is that even if our hands appear to be clean, a quick rinse isn't sufficient and does not actually remove bacteria.
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