Hand washing: Why you need to start using soap and water

When Florence Nightingale, the English nurse and statistician, promoted hand-washing in the mid-1800s, she had a strong backing. During Crimean War, in which she organized care for wounded soldiers, she insisted on proper hand and sanitization routines. These routines have been carried through generations to date. Fast forward, in 2020 and with the COVID-19 affecting us all, everyone is encouraged to wash their hands with soap and water as a crucial way of saving lives.

Here are some reasons why you should wash your hands using soap and water:

It is simple

Washing your hands is not complicated and is not meant to be. The process involves a five step process from wetting your hands to drying them up in the end.

To begin, wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), then 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. Lathering creates friction which removes any dirt or grease, and microbes from your hands. If wondering how long this should take, let twenty seconds of scrubbing your hands pass. You can even hum the ‘Happy Birthday’ song from start to finish to help you count on the amount of time to scrub through. When done scrubbing, rinse your hands well under clean, running water then dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them. This is important because germs can be transferred more easily to and from wet hands.

Works better than sanitizer

Sanitizer use is encouraged all over, but it should be limited to when you can’t access water and soap. You may be in a public vehicle, touched money or from an open air market. These situations may compel you to use the sanitizer. It is, however, best to use water and soap as the scrubbing and rinsing off effect is more effective in removing any dirt and microbes. When your hands are filled with grease for instance, a sanitizer may be ineffective in getting them clean in the first place. As the Canadian health officer Bonnie Henry said recently, “wash your hands like you’ve been chopping jalapeños and you need to change your contacts.” That means, the scrubbing part is very important, which is skipped when using sanitizer as a cleaning option.

Prevents many bacterial infections

Every two and a half minutes, we have a subconscious habit where we touch our eyes, nose and mouths. The challenge with this is that it gives complete access for any germs to pass through from our hands, straight to our internal organs through the passage ways. When we pick up all sorts of viruses and microorganisms throughout the day, the only way to avoid contact between them and our bodies is the constant hand-washing routine. Taking an example of the Coronavirus pandemic which is spread through touching one’s eyes, nose and mouth after any suspected contact with the virus, washing your hands with soap and water is a sure way of escaping its crippling grip.

Once a procedure thought only to be for doctors and nurses in hospitals, washing your hands with soap and water is increasingly becoming a ritual, done every now and then.

Some of the times you should also be keen to lather up are; after visiting the lavatories, changing a diaper, shaking people’s hands, before eating and after touching money. Before you think of skipping this routine, many people’s lives are in your hands. A simple gesture of taking water and soap, then doing the necessary can save them.