Why is it essential to wash your hands?

Lack of hand hygiene is a key factor in the transmission of infectious agents since the hands can harbor around 800,000 bacteria.

An act as simple as washing your hands is key to preventing the spread of diseases such as conjunctivitis, diarrhea, walking pneumonia, hepatitis A and even Covid-19. But some studies show that 97% of the time we wash our hands incorrectly.

In this post, we make recommendations to our pharmacy clients on how and why it is so important to wash your hands.

Soap and Water or Antiseptic Solution?

When hands are not visibly dirty it is recommended to clean them with an alcohol-based antiseptic simply by rubbing them. It is advisable to use preparations (liquid, gel, or foam) intended for hand hygiene with at least 60% alcohol. Our Pharmacy advises this method to decontaminate hands since:

-It’s faster: they dry immediately on the skin, so there is no need to use a paper or towel.
-The skin of the hands tolerates this method better since an antiseptic contains fewer chemicals than soap.
-If the hands are visibly dirty it is advisable to wash them with soap and water. In the case of having been exposed to certain pathogens, or when in doubt, it is better to wash your hands with this method.

However, not all soaps are the same. You can find bars of soap or liquid soap. Although the composition may be very similar, the use of liquid soap is preferably recommended since it is much easier to find this type of product with antibacterial disinfectants.

The bar of soap, on the other hand, has a greater tendency to dry out the skin and has greater exposure to bacteria. However, it is a more environmentally friendly option and can also have an antibacterial component. It is therefore recommended to rinse it after use to eliminate germs.

How to Wash Your Hands Properly?

The procedure to follow to wash your hands properly is:

-Apply the product (soap or antiseptic solution) in the palm of the hand
-Rub both palms of the hands spreading the product.
-Interlock the fingers and rub the backs of the hands in rotational movements.
-Do not forget your nails or wrists to ensure proper hygiene.
-In the case of using soap, rinse hands, and dry them.
-How to wash your hands properly

Tips From the Pharmacy Office to Wash your Hands Correctly

From the pharmacy office, we can educate patients about the need for handwashing, as well as explain the recommendations and the process to do it correctly and ensure proper disinfection.

It should be remembered, especially, when dispensing products that require manipulation by the patient, and that will come into contact with mucous membranes, such as eye solutions, products for canker sores, or suppositories. It is also worth remembering when you have products such as insect repellants.

The duration of the process should be between 20 and 40 seconds.
Do not use hot water: warm water is better to avoid drying out your hands.
After rubbing your hands with antiseptics it is better to dry them completely.
After hand washing, it is advisable to dry your hands with a disposable or paper towel or with hot air to avoid coming into contact with bacteria again.
Turn off the tap with a disposable towel when you finish washing your hands. This prevents exposure to new germs.
It is advisable to use moisturizers after washing to avoid excess dryness on the skin.
It is recommended not to wash your hands excessively: it can affect our skin with the impoverishment of the skin flora.