Handwashing should be taken as being important as the air we breathe because good health is in our hands. Health, is said to be like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it. Anyone that had been on a sick bed or had seen a love one experienced pains before, will know how to value healthy living.
Before Corona Virus pandemic broke last year, there had been campaign on handwashing especially in the time of Ebola disease. Then, every school were mandated to fix handwashing materials in their various schools and companies seized the opportunity to support handwashing to their benefits by using their products as the best for clean hands.
After Nigeria was declared Ebola free, all the campaigns on clean hands was reduced to once in a year world celebration of Handwashing Day. It is a known fact today that handwashing should be a daily campaign from home to the school, Church to the Mosque, offices to business places just to mention a few.
With Covid-19 still spreading according to Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, washing your hands regularly is one of the best ways to protect yourself and your family from getting sick. You can help yourself and your loved ones stay healthy by washing your hands often, especially during these key times by washing hands
· Before, during, and after preparing food
· Before eating food
· Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick with vomiting or diarrhea
· Before and after treating a cut or wound
· After using the toilet
· After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
· After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
· After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
· After handling pet food or pet treats
· After touching garbage
With COVID-19 pandemic, you should also clean hands:
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· After you have been in a public place and touched an item or surface that may be frequently touched by other people, such as door handles, tables, gas pumps, shopping carts, or electronic cashier registers/screens, etc.
· Before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth because that’s how germs enter our bodies.
Five Steps to Wash Your Hands the Right Way
· 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. 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.
Washing hands with soap and water is the best way to get rid of germs in most situations. If soap and water are not readily available, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. You can tell if the sanitizer contains at least 60% alcohol by looking at the product label. Sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in many situations. However, sanitizers do not get rid of all types of germs.