Hand Washing

After posting on Toxoplasmosis I thought we should briefly discuss the importance of hand washing.  Now you’re probably thinking why I know hand washing is important and I certainly know how to wash my hands.  Well I thought the same until I was forced sit through a 50-minute lecture on hand washing in vet school.  Yes, 50 minutes.  Hand washing to this day is the single greatest advancement in public health and is still the most important way to prevent the spread of infections, such as the flu.  As the CDC puts its “clean hands save lives.”    

So what is the correct way to wash your hands?

• Wet your hands with clean, running water and apply soap
• Rub your hands together and scrub all areas of your hands, including the back of hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your nails.  The most frequently areas missed include thumbs, fingernails, back of hands and wrists.
• Scrub for at least 20 seconds.  I repeat at least 20 seconds.  Contact time with soap is the most important factor.  I recommend singing a song such as the “ABCs” to yourself (or out loud doesn’t matter).  FYI a surgical scrub last 5 minutes.
• Rinse your hands well
• Dry your hands with a clean towel ideally paper or air-dry them

When to wash your hands

• Before and during food preparation
• Before eating
• After using the toilet
• Before and after tending to a sick person
• After blowing you nose, coughing or sneezing
• After touching an animal
• After handling garbage
• When they look dirty

Brief History of Hand Washing 

Hand washing was not recognized as a way to prevent the spread of infections until 1847 when a Hungarian physician named Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis discovered that hand washing drastically reduce the incidence of puerperal fever.