The Consequences of Poor Hand Hygiene

So many nasty infections that could have been avoided start with poor hand hygiene. It is essential to wash our hands in order to prevent the spread of germs, with unclean hands remaining the most common way of passing around harmful bacteria and infecting ourselves and those around us with illness and disease.


Most forms of food poisoning caused by bacteria and viruses also have origins in poor hand hygiene. Many cases of these illnesses, which are particularly dangerous in children and the elderly, could have been prevented through proper hand washing at the correct time as well as making sure raw meat is cooked thoroughly.  


Here are just some of the illnesses you can infect yourself and others with if you do not wash your hands when necessary. 

• Colds- with the average adult is infected 2-4 times a year, and children 6-12 times, the common cold is not very often serious but irritating, causing coughs, sore throats and runny noses abound. Over 22 million school days a year are lost through the common cold in the UK.
• Flu- the consequences of this virus can be very dangerous, particularly in the elderly and those who suffer from respiratory infections. Symptoms start as those similar to a cold, but can quickly move on from coughing, chills and fever to fatigue and extreme headaches. In extremely severe incidences, flu can lead to pneumonia and in rare cases death.
• Gastroenteritis (also known as stomach flu or Norovirus)- this is severe inflammation of the stomach and small intestine, resulting in severe abdominal cramps, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea. 
• Food poisoning- caused by various harmful bacteria such as salmonella, campylobacter and E-coli, usually transferred when a person has not washed their hands after using the toilet or before preparing food. Food poisoning has a wide variety of symptoms which can include severe stomach pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and fever. Symptoms can be more severe in occasional cases.
• Impetigo- this is an extremely contagious bacterial infection which is transferred incredibly easily through touch and affects only the skin. The infection can rapidly spread around a person's body or to other people by simply through brief touching, so when infected frequent hand-washing is essential. It is mostly pain-free, but very unpleasant in appearance, causing skin to crust, flake and break out in yellow blisters.
• MRSA- A virus considered internationally newsworthy for its sometimes devastating effects, MRSA is caused by strains of the staphylococcus bacteria mutating and becoming resistant to some forms of antibiotics. It is passed on through touch and can cause major infections and damage to the blood, skin, heart lungs and bones, making the disease lethal in some cases. 

For more information about how, when and why hand-washing is essential in preventing disease, visit http://www./wash-hands.com.

Correct Hand Washing Technique

Many people do not wash their hands, but even more do not wash their hands properly, which is almost as bad as not washing them at all! Proper hand washing is not just splashing your finger tips with a bit of water.

Correct hand washing technique should ensure all surfaces of the hand (including wrists, finger-tips and fingernails) are thoroughly soaped, scrubbed, rinsed and dried with a clean towel. This should take you at least fifteen seconds, or about the time it takes to sing happy birthday twice through! Try to sing in your head in public...

Here's the correct hand washing process in ten straightforward steps:

• Wet your hands with plenty of warm water
• Apply enough soap or handwash to cover all the surfaces of your hand (from fingertip to wrist!)
• Rub your hands together, palm to palm
• Rub your right palm over the left with interlaced fingers and then vice versa
• Now rub palm to palm with your fingers interlaced
• Backs of fingers to opposing palms with fingers locked
• Rotational rubbing of left thumb clasped in the right palm and vice versa
• Rub backwards and forwards with the clasped fingers of your right hands in the left and vice versa
• Rinse hands thoroughly with warm clean water
• Dry whole hand (remembering in between fingers) with a clean towel

To make this even more simple, here's a handy video demonstrating the correct technique. For more information about washing your hands, check out http://www.wash-hands.com