Key points about hygiene and hand washing
- keeping your hands clean is one of the best ways to keep from getting sick and spreading illnesses
- put soap on your hands and wash for 20 seconds - dry your hands thoroughly
- cleaning your hands gets rid of germs you pick up from other people, from the surfaces you touch and from the animals you come in contact with
Caption and credit
This video about hand washing and basic things you can do to protect yourself and everyone else against COVID-19 is relevant for protecting yourself against any respiratory infection. World Health Organisation video.
When to wash your hands
- before eating
- before, during, and after handling or preparing food
- after sneezing, coughing or blowing your nose
- after playing outside
- after having contact with animals, their toys, leashes, or waste
- after going to the toilet
... and ...
- after touching something that could be contaminated (such as a rubbish bin or cleaning cloth)
- before dressing a wound, giving medicine or putting in contact lenses
- after contact with blood or body fluids (like vomit or saliva)
- after changing a nappy
- more often when someone in your home is sick
- whenever they look dirty
How to wash your hands
Use soap and water or an alcohol-based wipe or hand gel.
- wet your hands under clean running water - use warm water if available
- put soap on your hands and wash for 20 seconds
- rub hands together until the soap makes bubbles
- rub on both sides of both hands and in between fingers and thumbs
- rinse all the soap off under clean running water
- dry your hands all over thoroughly - with a paper towel or a clean dry towel
