The ongoing pandemic has made health and cleanliness everyone’s number one priority today. Sanitisers and soaps have become a bigger part of our daily lives and over the past year, we have washed our hands religiously after doing the smallest of chores or touching any surface. Washing hands prevents the transfer of germs and bacterial or diarrhoeal infections that can come from shaking hands with someone too.
In this day and age, no surface and no hands are safe enough to take a risk. One must wash their hands after eating, cooking, treating a sick person, throwing the garbage, using the toilet, sneezing, or coughing, petting an animal, and returning home after being outdoors. For all these occasions, it is vital that not only wash hands but wash them the correct way. Just using a bit of handwash and washing it off in a swift motion will not clean away all the germs on your hands. We must know how to correctly wash our hands so that we can eliminate all the germs that are present on our hands.
How to wash your hands, the correct hand washing method
According to the World Health Organization, WHO, the entire handwashing process must take about 40-60 seconds!
- You must wet every side of your hand. Then, take enough handwash to cover both hands, front and back.
- Rub each hand with the opposite palm to carefully clean the back of the hands.
- Then place one hand over another and rub between the finger gaps. This will clean the space between each finger as germs could very well be present there.
- Then interlace your fingers and rub them against each other to clean the lengths of the fingers.
- Similarly, clean the backs of the fingers too.
- Hold each thumb with a hand and rotate to clean the thumb effectively.
- Lastly, clean the palms and insides in rotational motions.
- Rinse hands with running water.
- Dry hands thoroughly with a dry and clean towel
- Use the towel to turn off the tap so that you avoid contact with the tap.
It is important to completely and carefully dry hands with a towel. WHO advises to not use alcohol rubs right before or right after washing hands with a handwash and instead of moisturising your hands with a lotion or a hand cream post-washing. It is also pertinent to wash hands with normal to cold water and not warm water.
This is the prescribed hand washing method as said by WHO. Following this will be highly beneficial and will prevent diseases and viruses from entering the body.
Savlon has a range of germ-fighting handwashes that are effective and handy when it comes to killing germs on our hands. Savlon Chhota Bheem Germ Protection Liquid comes with a Chhota Bheem sticker which is attractive to kids and can help convince them to wash their hands. Savlon Herbal Sensitive pH Balanced Liquid Handwash is for users who have more sensitive skin and like to stay away from harsh chemicals that change the pH balance of their skin. Savlon Moisture Shield Germ Protection Liquid Handwash is also a great handwash to prevent Rotavirus, H1N1, and the stomach flu.
All of Savlon’s handwash are tested and suitable for everyone. They lather up well and have been proven to kill most germs. These handwash must be used for at least 20 seconds before rinsing for effective germ protection.
