Hand Washing Tips

The Twenty-second Rule

For many people, washing your hands means giving them a quick rinse. But if you’re serious about getting rid of the germs on your hands, you need to spend a full twenty seconds washing with antimicrobial soap, then rinsing with warm water, then drying vigorously on a clean paper towel. Twenty seconds really isn’t that long; it’s about the same time you’ve spent reading this.

WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan, speaking on the occasion of the WHO "Save lives: clean your hands" campaign (May 7, 2010): “Reports from Europe and the USA alone indicate that around 6 million patients are affected by such infections each year. This means extra illness, extra costs, and extra needless deaths. As a preventive strategy, clean hands among health care workers sounds like such a simple and straightforward measure, but this simplicity is deceptive.

In reality, what seems like a common-sense solution has required a vigorous scientific approach to understand how infections spread in health care settings, the role of cross-transmission by contaminated hands and environments, and the best ways to eliminate this risk.

Today we know for certain that a procedure that takes only 20 to 30 seconds can, when performed according to WHO recommendations, significantly reduce the harm to patients caused by health-care associated infections.”

Before and After

To stay healthy and keep the people you come into contact with healthy, know when to wash and dry your hands:

Before preparing food
After using the washroom
Before treating a cut or wound
After blowing your nose
Before and after tending to a sick person
After coughing or sneezing

It's not all soap and water

Just because you’ve washed your hands doesn’t mean the germs have been washed away. It takes the friction of a clean paper towel to literally wipe away those sick-causing germs. And don’t neglect the creases between your fingers.

You have a beautiful face, just don't touch it

According to the Mayo Clinic, the transfer of germs from hands to eyes, nose and mouth is the primary source of infection. So do your best to avoid contact between your hands and face, especially after touching public surfaces.