Washing your hands is one of the easiest and most effective ways to help prevent the spread of many infections and illnesses, including cold and flu.1,2 Make sure you’re washing up the right way by following these simple techniques.
Lather Up
Use a combination of soap and clean running water for cleaning your hands.1,3 Using an ample amount of soap kills germs or viruses. Water alone will not do the trick.
Switch Hands
Whether you’re left- or right-handed, you naturally favor one hand getting clean over the other. It takes a little time to get used to, but give your hands equal scrubbing, and lather up with soap well.
Time Your Wash
Wash your hands all of the way to your wrists for a good 20 seconds, or about the time it takes to recite the alphabet or sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice.1
Rinse and Repeat
Finally, rinse your hands completely until all soap is gone. Use these techniques every time you wash your hands. Frequent hand washing is best for keeping germs away, and especially before you prepare food, after you use the bathroom (don’t laugh; one in three people don’t do this), or when someone in the household—including you—is experiencing cold or flu symptoms.
1
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives. Available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing. Accessed November 2011.
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