St. Luke’s Hospital offers ways to prevent infection in the New YearPublished 9:00am Tuesday, February 19, 2013
How to Wash Your Hands
1) Turn on water, preferably to a warm, comfortable temperature.
2) Use approximately a dime-sized squirt of liquid hand soap (or according to manufacturer’s instructions).
3) Lather and rub hands together for at least 20 seconds (Sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice).
4) Be sure to wash well between fingers and under nails, although using a nail brush is not necessary.
5) Rinse all soap off hands.
6) Using two paper towels, dry hands completely.
7) Turn off faucet with paper towels, then discard towels in garbage can.
- Hot water is not necessary.
- Hand washing is most effective at washing away germs, not necessarily killing them.
- Antibacterial soaps have not been proven to be more effective than regular soap, so use what you like.
- Getting hands completely dry is essential in the hand-washing process. Wet hands are more likely than even dirty hands to carry germs.
- Be sure to use the towels to turn off the faucet. Remember, you just turned it on with your dirty hands. Use a towel too, to open the door.
- article submitted by Jennifer Wilson