Hand washing

Hand washing (or handwashing), also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning hands for the
purpose of removing soil, dirt, and microorganisms. If water and soap is not available, hands can be
cleaned with ash instead.
The main medical purpose of washing hands is to cleanse the hands
of pathogens (like bacteria or viruses) and chemicals which can cause harm or disease. This is
especially important for people who handle food or work in the medical field, but also important practice
for the general public.
Hand washing with soap consistently at critical moments during the day prevents the spread of
diseases like diarrhea and cholera which are transmitted through fecal-oral routes. People can
become infected with respiratory diseases such as influenza or the common cold, for example, if they
do not wash their hands before touching their eyes, nose, or mouth.

Health benefits
Hand washing has the following health benefits:

 Minimizes the spread of influenza

 Prevents infectious causes of diarrhea.
 Decrease respiratory infections.
 Decrease infant mortality rate at home birth deliveries.
 In developing countries, childhood mortality rates related to respiratory and diarrheal
diseases can be reduced by introducing simple behavioral changes, such as hand washing
with soap. This simple action can reduce the rate of mortality from these diseases by almost
50 percent.
 Interventions that promote hand washing can reduce diarrhea episodes by about a third, and
this is comparable to providing clean water in low income areas. 48% of reductions in diarrhea
episodes can be associated with hand washing with soap.
 Hand washing with soap is the single most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrhea
and acute respiratory infections (ARI), as automatic behavior performed in homes, schools,
and communities worldwide. Pneumonia, a major ARI, is the number one cause of mortality
among children under five years old, taking the life of an estimated 1.8 million children per
year. Diarrhea and pneumonia together account for almost 3.5 million child deaths
annually. According to UNICEF, turning hand washing with soap before eating and after using
the toilet into an ingrained habit can save more lives than any single vaccine or medical
intervention, cutting deaths from diarrhea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory
infections by one-quarter. Hand washing is usually integrated together with other sanitation
interventions as part of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programs.

When should you wash your hands?

1. Before, during, and after preparing food

2. Before eating food
3. Before and after caring for someone who is sick
4. Before and after treating a cut or wound
5. After using the toilet
6. After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
 7. After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
8. After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
9. After handling pet food or pet treats
10. After touching garbage

How should you wash your hands?

 Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
 Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of
your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
 Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song
from beginning to end twice.
 Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
 Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Handwashing using water and soap should take around 40-60 seconds.

1. Once your hands are wet, apply soap to cover all of your hands’ surfaces.
2. Rub hands palm to palm.
3. Rub your right palm up and down the back of the other with interlaced fingers, and vice versa.
4. Rub palm to palm with your fingers interlaced.
5. Rub the backs of your fingers to opposing palms with fingers bent and interlocked.
6. Rub your left thumb clasped in your right palm, and vice versa.
7. Rub your clasped fingers in a backwards, forwards and rotational direction in the other hand.
8. Rinse hands thoroughly with water.
9. Dry hands thoroughly with a single use towel.
10. Use the towel to turn off the faucet.
11. Once dry, your hands are clean.

A hand rub using hand sanitizer should take around 20-30 seconds.

1. Apply a palmful of hand sanitizer and cover all surfaces of your hands.
2. Rub hands palm to palm.
3. Rub your right palm up and down the back of the other with interlaced fingers, and vice versa.
4. Rub palm to palm with your fingers interlaced.
5. Rub the backs of your fingers to opposing palms with fingers bent and interlocked.
6. Rub your left thumb clasped in your right palm and vice versa.
7. Rub your clasped fingers in a backwards, forwards and rotational direction in the other hand.
8. Once dry, your hands are clean.

Global Handwashing Day

Global Handwashing Day (GHD) is a campaign to motivate and mobilize people around the world to
improve their handwashing habits. Washing hands at critical points during the day and washing
with soap are both important.
Global Handwashing Day occurs on 15 October of each year. The global campaign is dedicated to
raising awareness of handwashing with soap as a key factor in disease prevention. Respiratory and
intestinal diseases can be reduced by 25-50%.

Aims
The aims of Global Handwashing Day are to:

 Foster and support a general culture of handwashing with soap in all societies
 Shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in each country
 Raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap.

Activities

Each year, over 200 million people celebrate Global Handwashing Day.

Related awareness days

The World Health Organization (WHO) celebrates a World Hand Hygiene Day on 5 May

[Sources: Wikipedia, https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html,

https://www.davidsonwashroom.com.au/hand-washing-procedures-steps-nurses/]