Shutterstock / Yuganov Konstantin©Today is World Hand Hygiene Day, a World Health Organisation (WHO) initiative that seems even more important than before given the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
The simple slogan for this year “Seconds save lives – clean your hands!”
The WHO is calling on healthcare workers and facilities to prioritise effective hand hygiene action at “the point of care”.
The point of care refers to the place where three elements come together: the patient, the health care worker, and care or treatment involving contact with the patient or their surroundings.
As we ease out of lockdown here in the UK, however, it’s a timely reminder about the importance of good hand hygiene in general. Washing hands properly is shown to be an effective measure to stop the spread of Covid-19 (along with wearing masks and physical distancing).
Hand sanitisers are also great for carrying around when you’re beginning to go out and about again.
The current NHS advice is that you should “wash your hands for the amount of time it takes to sing ‘Happy Birthday‘ twice (around 20 seconds)”.
Remember, you should also always wash your hands in the following circumstances:
- after using the toilet or changing a nappy
- before and after handling raw foods like meat and vegetables
- before eating or handling food
- after blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing
- before and after treating a cut or wound
- after touching animals, including pets, their food and after cleaning their cages
For more health advice from “The People’s Friend”, click here.
Yvonne McKenzie I work on the Features team and admit to being nosy, so I love looking after the Between Friends letters and finding out all about our lovely readers. I also look after our health copy and enjoy writing about inspiring people that help make the articles in the magazine so interesting.
