Hand hygiene is central to preventing the spread of infectious diseases, and its importance cannot be overemphasized. In everyday life, hands become the primary intermediary between humans and the outside world, serving as a link to the environment, including surfaces that may harbor a variety of pathogens. These microorganisms include bacteria, viruses, and fungi that can be carried on the hands from various surfaces and transferred to the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and mouth, which can ultimately lead to the development of infectious diseases. Daily hand hygiene is becoming not just a recommendation but an essential necessity, especially with the active spread of infections in society.
Why is proper hand hygiene very important?
- Hand hygiene: 80% of infectious diseases are transmitted through touch.
Touch means not only communication between people, but also touching your own mouth, nose, and food. Touching food with dirty hands can lead to infections such as salmonellosis, diarrhea, staphylococcal infection. Touching your face with dirty hands can lead to acute respiratory viral infections and influenza. - It is especially important to wash your hands before preparing food and after using the toilet.
Only 20% of people wash their hands before preparing food. Less than 75% of women and less than 50% of men wash their hands after using the toilet. Each time after flushing a toilet with the lid open, a fine mist containing bacteria (E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus) is spread over an area of up to 6 square meters. 90% of surfaces around toilets in public toilets are covered with such bacteria.
- The bulk of the bacteria on hands is on the fingertips and under the fingernails.
Most people only wash their palms and skip all other parts. The most bacteria is on the dominant hand. But right-handed people tend to wash their left hand more thoroughly, and vice versa. - The recommended hand washing time is at least 20 seconds.
People on average wash their hands for 10 seconds. - Wet hands are 1000 times more likely to spread bacteria than dry hands.
Only 20% of people dry their hands after washing. Reused cloth towels contain millions of bacteria. The most hygienic hand drying products are disposable paper towels. Hand hygiene is essential: simple hand washing with soap and water helps remove up to 90% of microorganisms from the surface of the skin and can significantly reduce the transmission of household contact infections.
Hand hygiene: When should I wash my hands?
It is preferable to wash your hands with soap under running water. You should wet your hands with warm water, apply soap, rub your hands together until the soap forms a lather, and then spread the soap over the entire surface of your hands, paying special attention to between the fingers, around and under the nails. The procedure takes about 20 seconds. Next, you need to rinse your hands under running water and wipe them with a towel.
At home, it is recommended to use ordinary soap. In this case, liquid soap is preferable to lumpy soap, as it reduces the risk of transmission of infection from one person to another.
Hand hygiene is mandatory:
- Before handling food (before and after cutting raw meat, fish)
- Before eating
- After touching money (it accumulates a huge amount of bacteria)
- After physical contact with animals or animal waste
- Before any procedure where you have to touch your face
- After returning home from any walk, even if you did not go to a public place, because you touched the elevator button, the railing or the front door handle anyway
- After using the toilet
- After contact with blood or other body fluids
- Before and after caring for sick people
- After coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose.
If it is not possible to wash hands, alternatively use a hand sanitizer and rub it into the skin for at least 20 seconds.
It is also important that over-frequent hand washing (especially with antibacterial soaps) gradually depletes the surface lipids of the skin, leading to deeper penetration of detergents into the superficial layers of the skin. Damage to the skin of the hands also alters the microbiome, leading to more frequent colonization of pathogens and the development of pustular skin diseases. Remember to apply moisturizer after washing or disinfecting your hands.
How to wash your hands?
- Remove all unnecessary objects that hinder the procedure (ring, wristwatch);
- Moisten the surface of the hands;
- Take soap (up to 3 ml), foam for at least 20 seconds, go through the interfinger space, nail area, soap the back side, the whole palm, wrists;
- Rinse under running water;
- Dry;
- Close the faucet with toilet paper or paper towel (for public places);
- To avoid contact with a dirty surface, you can use similar disposable products when opening the door.
Measures to prevent viral infections
Common methods of preventing disease transmission include:
- Excluding or limiting contact with potential vectors;
- Observance of personal hygiene rules, including hand hygiene;
- Regular control of sanitary order at home and in the workplace;
- Preventive disinfection of premises, equipment, and tools;
- Use of additional protective equipment during outbreaks;
- Taking antiviral drugs as prescribed by a doctor;
- Vaccination.
Prevention of acute viral infections is reduced to regular hand washing, observance of sanitary rules in food storage and preparation. Prevention of viral respiratory diseases means strengthening immunity and hardening, limiting social contacts during the period of high morbidity, observing personal hygiene, wearing masks in crowded places, using disinfectants, and practicing hand hygiene.
Conclusion
Hand hygiene is not just an aspect of personal hygiene, but a key preventive measure against infectious diseases that can significantly reduce the risk of spreading pathogens. Following simple but effective hand washing practices can help prevent a multitude of illnesses, from trivial colds to more serious infections such as salmonellosis or viral infections. It is important to remember that proper hand hygiene is not only about washing hands regularly with soap and water, but also about being attentive to the conditions in which it takes place. Timely hygiene control measures can significantly reduce the spread of diseases in society and ensure the health of each of us. Therefore, by paying attention to simple actions, such as hand washing, we protect ourselves and others from many dangerous diseases, especially in conditions where infections are actively spreading.
