{"id":3617,"date":"2020-03-05T17:54:35","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T01:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthykidshappykids.com\/?p=3617"},"modified":"2020-03-12T11:48:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-12T18:48:55","slug":"handwashing-coronavirus-right-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2020\/03\/05\/handwashing-coronavirus-right-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Handwashing and Coronavirus: Are you doing it the right way?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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How much does handwashing really help to prevent the spread of Coronavirus? Let’s find out!<\/p>\n

Did you know that 30% of people DON\u2019T wash their hands after going to the bathroom? EEEEUUUUWWW!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And of those who do wash their hands, only about 50% do it RIGHT? Many are simply wetting their hands quickly, with or without soap.<\/span><\/p>\n

Statisticians who looked at how much proper handwashing could actually make a difference in spreading infectious disease calculate that:<\/span><\/p>\n

If 60% rather than 20% of air travelers maintained clean hands, it could slow down the spread of infections by almost 70% (1)<\/h4>\n

SEVENTY PERCENT!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Even just increasing the number of people with clean hands by 10% could decrease the rate of disease transmission by 24%!<\/span><\/p>\n

Handwashing REALLY is one of the best ways to prevent global pandemics!<\/span><\/p>\n

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What should you wash your hands with?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Plain old soap and water for the win!<\/span><\/p>\n

One study (2) found that about 44% of people who deliberately touched door handles and railings in public places had bacterial contamination of their hands (yes – think about the escalator or stair rails that your kids love sliding their hands all over). After handwashing with water alone, this percentage dropped to 23%, and after handwashing with water and plain soap, this percentage dropped even lower to 8%. And it didn\u2019t matter which bacteria was found on the hands – washing lowered them all!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another small hospital-based study (3) found that washing hands under running water, even without soap, was more effective than ethanol-based hand disinfectants at killing the Influenza A virus! In fact, ethanol-based disinfectants were found to be extremely ineffective against Influenza A because ethanol can\u2019t penetrate the mucus surrounding the influenza virus. In this study, Influenza A was still living after 2 minutes of rubbing hands with an ethanol-based disinfectant. You\u2019d have to rub your hands for 4 minutes to completely inactivate Influenza A (that\u2019s singing your ABCs 8 times! P.S. It takes about 30 seconds for most people to get through 1 round of ABCs). If you wait for the mucus to completely dry on your fingers, then ethanol-based disinfectants can work within 30 seconds. But it takes 30 minutes for mucus to completely dry. So, uh, if you have someone\u2019s snot or phlegm on your hands (sorry to be gross, but that\u2019s what it is!), are you really going to wait 30 minutes until it\u2019s completely dry before you clean your hands??? On the other hand, washing hands with running water inactivated Influenza A within 30 SECONDS! The same results were found whether you used plain water only, or water with plain or antiseptic soap.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rubbing under running water mechanically removes viruses and bacteria before you can touch your face and inoculate yourself through your eyes, nose and mouth.\u00a0Did you know that people touch their faces up to 23+ times an hour? And that 44% of the time, people make contact with their mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth) – exactly the point of entry for influenza or coronavirus! (5) Instead of nagging your kids constantly to STOP TOUCHING their faces, start with having them be mindful <\/strong><\/i>and notice when they ARE touching their face. Frame what they should be doing in a positive way instead of negative. Positive reinforcement always works better than negative reinforcement. Instead of “STOP touching your face”, try “KEEP your hands down.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Want even more reason to use WATER over antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers. Antibacterial disinfectants disrupt our skin microbiome and have been found to increase the risk of creating antibiotic-resistant superbugs! In fact, the FDA already banned Triclosan and 23 other ingredients in over-the-counter antiseptic products back in 2017 due to concerns of growing antibiotic-resistance and possible thyroid suppression.<\/span><\/p>\n

But water and soap alone aren\u2019t enough. Hands need to be washed in the right<\/em> <\/strong>way to provide antimicrobial benefit and prevent spread of infection.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Do you know how to wash your hands the RIGHT way?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Remember that of the 70% of people who actually wash their hands, only 50% do it the <\/span>right<\/i><\/b> way, which means only about 35% of people who are actually washing their hands well enough to prevent viral transmission. SO, here\u2019s a refresher on how to do it the <\/span>RIGHT <\/i><\/b>way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

6 Steps to Wash Your Hands the Right Way (6):<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n