Why wash your hands?

Why wash your hands?

The common cold, the flu, but also more serious diseases such as intestinal infections and hepatitis A can be transmitted by dirty hands.

Therefore, thorough handwashing is a duty to avoid serious health problems.

Experts emphasise that the hands are the most frequently used tools by humans. For this reason, they are particularly vulnerable to all kinds of damage, injury, contamination or infection.

Therefore, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that hands should be washed thoroughly and regularly with soap and water for at least one minute in the following situations, among others:

-after coming into the house from outside,
-after going to the toilet
-before meals,
-when visibly soiled.

This is particularly important when caring for children.
When children play, they often put all sorts of objects in their mouths, and in this way, bacteria and viruses that may be found, for example, on toys that the carers have touched with unwashed hands enter the child's digestive system.

Experts point out some basic rules for handwashing:

-wash hands for 40–60 seconds - this longer time helps to remove bacteria and viruses to a great extent;
-do it thoroughly - do not forget your wrists, thumbs and the spaces between your fingers;
-wash hands in warm water;
- use soap or alcohol-based products for washing.