As we mentioned in our last blog, washing hands is a crucial way to stop the spread of COVID-19, as well as many other viruses. The CDC says “Handwashing is one of the best ways to protect yourself and your family from getting sick.” Aside from social distancing, washing our hands frequently is probably the best way that we can stop COVID-19 from spreading to others, and even from catching it ourselves. There’s never a bad time to take a minute and wash your hands, however, these are some of the most important times to stop what you’re doing and wash your hands:
- Before, during, and after preparing food
- Before eating food
- Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick
- Before and after treating a cut or wound
- After using the toilet
- After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
- After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
- After handling pet food or pet treats
- After touching garbage
If soap and water aren’t available to you, make sure you at least use hand sanitizer. However, it’s important to be aware of some of hand sanitizer’s shortcomings in comparison to soap and water. While very effective, hand sanitizer doesn’t get rid of all types of germs and may not work well if your hands are visibly dirty or greasy.
During a time with such rapid spread of the coronavirus, it’s important that we’re all aware of how essential it is that we wash our hands as often as possible. WASHING HANDS SAVE LIVES!
Don’t be lucky you didn’t get sick, be fortunate that you’re healthy – that means taking precautions to avoid getting sick.
