By Everything Lifestyle Staff

Simple act

Do This Every Day So You Don’t Get Sick

Oct 28, 2024 | 6:50 AM

It’s true. The simple act of washing your hands is one of the most effective ways to prevent illness.

How many times in your life have you been reminded to wash your hands? From early childhood, we are repeatedly encouraged to perform this simple ritual, but by the time we’re adults, we’re not always as vigilant as we should be about handwashing. However, handwashing has a very important role in keeping us healthy and should not be ignored.

Washing hands with soap and water makes you less likely to get sick because it removes germs from your hands. Those germs can be picked up from anything you touch – from handrails and light switches to gas pumps and phone screens. Once the germs are on our hands, they can enter our bodies when we touch our eyes, nose or mouth.

Research suggests that 1 in 3 illnesses that cause diarrhea and 1 in 5 respiratory infections can be prevented just by keeping your hands clean. Not only can germs on our hands get us sick, but when we touch objects, we continue to spread those germs around, increasing the chance of others getting sick. That’s why handwashing is one of the best ways to stop the spread of infection.

The more often you wash your hands, the more likely you’ll remove germs that can make you sick. The most obvious times to wash hands are after using the bathroom, before preparing food or eating, and after coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose. It’s also a good idea to wash your hands after being out in public, touching surfaces that have been touched by many others.

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Washing your hands is easy to do, only takes a minute and has no real downside. The only potential issue with frequent handwashing is that your hands may become dry and cracked, especially when temperatures are cold and the air is dry. But that’s easily remedied by using moisturizer on your hands as often as is needed.

You don’t need any special technique to wash your hands but you should pay attention to how thoroughly you complete this task. Place hands under water until they’re wet, apply soap and rub together for at least 20 seconds. That’s longer than most people typically wash their hands. To get a better sense of how long to lather up, hum the Happy Birthday song twice. Then rinse your hands until the soap is gone. Use a paper towel or your elbow to turn off the faucet, so you’re not in contact with any germs that may reside there. Then dry your hands with a clean paper towel or a regular towel. If you don’t have access to soap and water, you can also keep hands cleaner by using antibacterial sprays, lotions or gels.

Routine handwashing helps protect you from contagious illnesses. Getting recommended vaccines, such as the flu and covid-19, also helps keep you healthier. Additionally, keeping your immune system strong by eating healthy foods, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep makes it more likely your body can fight off illnesses even when you’re exposed to germs, viruses and bacteria.

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_{Medical Review: Perry Pitkow, MD}