As National Handwashing Awareness Week comes to an end we wanted to highlight the importance of this habit. Not only is this a good starting point for becoming more hygienic, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s an excellent habit to develop and maintain permanently. Furthermore, it is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs, illness and infections. The bottom line is that personal hygiene starts and ends with the handwashing.
As children, we were taught the importance of washing our hands before every meal. Unfortunately, germs could care less about the time of day. Therefore, it’s important to learn about the basics of better hand cleanliness in order to remain as illness and infection-free as possible, especially while COVID-19 remains an issue throughout the world today. Thus, if you want to do your part to prevent the spread of the virus, lather up those hands for a minimum of 20 seconds at a time and dry them with a clean towel. This will go a long way in helping the infection at bay. Not only will that keep you safe but will ensure that germs will not spread.
Statistics to be Aware of
If you’re a person that occasionally skips washing their hands because you feel it’s not important all the time, read the following statistics and think again:
- 80% of all communicable diseases can be spread by person-to-person contact (touch)
- 90% of all public restroom sinks are covered with bacteria
- Less than 50% of men and 75% of women wash their hands when using the restroom whether at home or in public
- Only 20% of all people dry their hands after washing them (damp or wet hands spread bacteria 1,000 times more than dry hands)
- Studies have shown that washing your hands on a regular basis results in 24% fewer sick days attributed to respiratory illness and 51% few sick days attributed to nausea or a sick stomach
- The cleanest way to dry your hands is with disposable paper towels, not cloth towels that have millions of bacteria caught in the fibers
- Washing your hands 3 or 4 times per day can reduce the onset of diarrhea by 40%
- Washing your hands for 30 seconds is considered the ideal amount of time to do so
Are you convinced yet about the importance of washing your hands frequently? If not, you should be. Hand washing is still one of the top ways in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Besides that, common sense dictates the importance of washing your hands. Vital Imaging Medical Diagnostic Centers encourages you to wash your hands!