Medically reviewed by Erin Diamond-Paulsen, NP
The first full week of December is National Handwashing Awareness Week. This 2023, when flu, COVID-19, strep throat and RSV are spiking, it might feel like the year of handwashing awareness.
Now would be the worst time for us to get complacent. With winter upon us, the spread of regular respiratory and viral infections will continue to rise. Washing your hands is the best way to help keep you and your loved ones healthy.
So, in celebration of National Handwashing Awareness Week, let’s take a look at how we can double down on our handwashing efforts.
When to Wash Up
A good rule to follow is simple — wash your hands as much as possible.
Always try to wash up after you’ve been out in public and have been exposed to frequently-touched surfaces. (Hand sanitizer is okay in a pinch, but a full handwashing is best.) It’s particularly important to wash your hands before you touch your face, particularly your eyes, nose and mouth — which are prime pathways for germs to enter our bodies.
Be sure to wash during these activities:
- Preparing and eating food: Wash your hands before, during and after you prepare, touch or eat food. This advice holds true even when preparing food for your favorite furry friends.
- Using the bathroom: Wash your hands after using the toilet, and after you change a diaper.
- Caring for a sick person: When you’re acting as a caregiver for someone who isn’t feeling well, it’s important to wash your hands regularly.
- Coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose: Cough and sneeze into your arm instead of your hands, and wash your hands after each time you cough, sneeze or blow your nose.
- Handling garbage: Wash up after you’ve touched garbage.
- Touching animals: Wash your hands after you touch animals or animal waste.
How to Do It Right
Fortunately, handwashing isn’t a complicated process. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a list of five simple steps to follow.
- Wet your hands with clean water and apply soap. It doesn’t matter if the water is warm or cold.
- Lather your hands by rubbing them together. Make sure you get both the front and back of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails. Reaching your forearms is also a good idea.
- Scrub for at least 20 seconds.
- Rinse your hands under clean water.
- Dry up!
What to Use
It turns out that it really doesn’t matter, as long as it’s soap. According to the CDC, studies haven’t found any additional benefit from using soaps that contain antibacterial ingredients over plain soap. Bar soap will work just as well as liquid soap, although liquid soap is easier to keep clean and share in public places.
Just Keep Doing It
Handwashing is one of the simplest and most effective ways to stay safe. Washing hands saves lives — let’s all keep it up and do our part to stop the spread of germs and illness.
Where to Go for Care
Occasionally, despite your best efforts, you may contract cold or flu. In the event that your symptoms warrant a trip to the doctor’s office, it’s important to know where to get care.
Schedule with your primary care provider for most mild symptoms of cold and flu.
Locate a primary care provider near you.
In the event that you need to visit a health care facility after hours, urgent care is a great choice for mild to moderate symptoms of cold and flu.
Find the urgent care location nearest to you.
Rarely, viral symptoms could lead to trouble breathing, chest pain or severe dehydration. In the case of life-threatening symptoms, emergency care is the best choice.
Find the emergency department located nearest to you.
About Erin Diamond-Paulsen, NP
Erin Diamond-Paulsen is a board-certified family nurse practitioner with clinical interests in women’s health and diabetes management. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Erin brings a great amount of experience in family medicine and is also fluent in Spanish.
Erin believes in caring for the whole patient, which involves a holistic approach. She wants to make sure her patients feel like all their concerns are addressed. Erin believes that both mental and physical health is important. Outside of work, Erin enjoys hiking, spending time with her family, riding horses and watching documentaries.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html
https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/pdf/handwashing-poster.pdf
https://wakemedvoices.com2018/10/hand-hygiene-101/
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