Washing your hands is a fairly simple fact, that we are taught when we are little and that does not seem to complicate our lives too much. The point is that a recent study states that 97% of the time we do it wrong , causing contamination in food or surfaces, in addition to favoring the transmission of infections.
The study by the United States Department of Agriculture confirms that most people do not wash their hands with soap for 20 seconds . It is the recommended time to control and prevent disease, so washing your hands for less than 20 seconds does not ensure that germs are eliminated.
According to the World Health Organization, 25% of respiratory infections can be avoided just by having a habit of washing your hands. When we clean them with soap, the contamination cycle is cut, since the contagion occurs with direct contact and by surfaces.
Does the hand sanitizer work?
Many of us have taken a small bottle of disinfecting gel for when we want to clean our hands and catch us outside the house. Experts say that it cannot be considered a substitute for hand washing , nor should it be taken as a habit. Normally, these types of people only wash their hands once a day and use alcoholic gels, but the truth is that they are only reducing germs and not visible dirt or contamination.
So it is recommended to use this gel after washing our hands with soap and having dried them. If it is dirty, the product only manages to remove the dirt and waterproof the skin.
We should wash our hands before and after cooking, when we go to the toilet, sneeze or cough, take out the trash, touch money, travel on public transport or pet a pet.
Don't forget to clean the towels
Like body towels, sink towels have to be washed frequently. 90% of bath towels contain bacteria capable of contaminating water and food, and 14% of E. coli.
If we dry our face with the same towel from the sink, you will be bringing the E.coli to your face in the same way as if you put your head inside the toilet.
Be sure to clean them regularly and have different towels for each area of your body. Take more precautions even if you share a flat or live with several people as a family.
Surely from now on you will be much more cautious when it comes to hygiene if you don't want to be a bacteria pit, right?
