[at-l] Santizing your hands

[WHHAWKINS@aol.com (WHHAWKINS@aol.com)]

These gels are better then nothing. But they Do Not do as good a job as 
washing your hands with soap and water.

The following, An Ounce of Prevention: Keeps the Germs Away, is from the CDC: 
National Center for Infectious Diseases.

Wildbill
An Ounce of Prevention: Keeps the Germs Away
The most important thing that you can do to keep from getting sick is to wash 
your hands. By frequently washing your hands you wash away germs that you 
have picked up from other people, or from contaminated surfaces, or from 
animals and animal waste. 

What happens if you do not wash your hands frequently? 

You pick up germs from other sources and then you infect yourself when you 
Touch your eyes 
Or your nose 
Or your mouth. 

One of the most common ways people catch colds is by rubbing their nose or 
their eyes after their hands have been contaminated with the cold virus. You 
can also spread germs directly to others or onto surfaces that other people 
touch. And before you know it, everybody around you is getting sick. The 
important thing to remember is that, in addition to colds, some pretty 
serious diseases -- like hepatitis A, meningitis, and infectious diarrhea -- 
can easily be prevented if people make a habit of washing their hands. 

When should you wash your hands?
You should wash your hands often. Probably more often than you do now because 
you can't see germs with the naked eye or smell them, so you do not really 
know where they are hiding. It is especially important to wash your hands 

Before, during, and after you prepare food 
Before you eat, and after you use the bathroom 
After handling animals or animal waste 
When your hands are dirty, and 
More frequently when someone in your home is sick. 

What is the correct way to wash your hands? 
First wet your hands and apply liquid or clean bar soap. Place the bar soap 
on a rack and allow it to drain. 

Next rub your hands vigorously together and scrub all surfaces. 

Continue for 10 - 15 seconds or about the length of a little tune. 

It is the soap combined with the scrubbing action that helps dislodge and 
remove germs. 

Rinse well and dry your hands. 

It is estimated that one out of three people do not wash their hands after 
using the restroom. So these tips are also important when you are out in 
public. Washing your hands regularly can certainly save a lot on medical 
bills. Because it costs less than a penny, you could say that this penny's 
worth of prevention can save you a $50 visit to the doctor. >    
 <A HREF="http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/op/handwashing.htm";>Handwashing | CDC - An Ounce of Prevention: Keeps the Germs Away</A> 


In a message dated 7/25/2001 1:43:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
nealb@midlandstech.com writes:





> Sometimes being an addicted reader of anything that comes into my hands and
> working at a great community college can come in handy.
> 
> A while back I read an article on why so many people get cold, the flu, etc.
> Apparently it has to do with not really giving your handfs a good washing.
> I think the article even mentioned that for surgery doctors, nurses, etc.
> should really scrub their hands and arms (up to the elbow) at least 5
> minutes if they WANT to get them clean.  If I go into surgery I hope my
> doctor does it for 10 minutes.
> 
> Seriously, later on I heard from students or instructors at my community
> college that the article was right.  At least as far as giving your hands a
> good scrubbing and not just a wetting and wringing of hands.  I guess this
> would apply even to sanitizing gels.
> 
> Just because you have never come down with the "flutters" or smothing worse
> does not mean you did not have a close call.  So I guess I'll try the gels,
> but I'll rubb my hands together real good and for a good long time.  I just
> hope someone doesn't think Mr. Hyde is hiking a trail.
> 
> William, The Library Turtle
> 














   


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