As the threat surrounding the spread of the coronavirus intensifies, washing your hands is now more critical than ever. The centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) are urging people to wash their hands regularly. Considering the virus has no known vaccine or anti-viral drugs to treat it, prevention is now the primary line of defense against the disease. It is, therefore, adhering to basic hygiene strategies like keeping your hands clean is a crucial weapon disease.
How Corona Virus Is Transmitted
Coronavirus is spread when droplets from sneezing, breathing, and coughing are transferred from one surface to the other. Your hands touch several surfaces daily; hence you pick many microbes. Therefore, when you reach parts of your body such as mouth, eyes, or nose using contaminated hands, the pathogens get into your system.
A survey done by the department of clinical nursing at Ulsan University shows that of 2800 respondents, 93.2% did not clean their hands after sneezing or coughing. It is, therefore, evident that a lot of infectious diseases can be prevented by keeping your hands free of microbes.
How Washing Hands Minimize the Number of Microbes in your Hands
Viruses and bacteria differ in some ways; understanding these difference help in managing the pathogens. Bacteria have organelles that aid in their reproduction, while viruses take over the host cells to produce new infections. Although they are different, the best way to reduce viral and bacterial diseases is by washing hands well.
You can either kill or decrease the number of microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. To reduce the sum of microbes, you should wash your hands using soap that lathers and clean water. Killing germs requires the use of antibacterial agents like chloride, triclosan, and alcohol.
Additional Tips for Avoiding Microbes
Washing hands using water and soap is no doubt an effective way to keep microbes away; however, you can use other precautions. After washing your hands, use a clean towel to avoid transferring more germs to your hands. If you cannot wash your hands, clean your hands using a hand sanitizer that contains alcohol.
If it is not necessary, avoid/ minimize touching your eyes, nose, and mouth using your hands. You can also keep a healthy microbiota by preventing or decreasing stress, using diverse foods that are plant-based to and getting the recommended hours of sleep.
The world today is not only a global village but also dirty. Taking care of your health is a responsibility you should take seriously.
