Washing those little hands

The first thing we are taught as children, is to wash our hands before we eat, after we touch animals or after we have been to the toilet.

Recently I received an email stating how putting your handbag on various surfaces, it picks up dirt and germs, causing diseases. This is spread from one surface where we put our handbag to another - making a handbag a filthy, germ-infested accessory. I was quite surprised to find that aparantly our desks carry more bacteria than a toilet.

Personally, I'll do whatever it takes to avoid public toilets. My personal record is once surviving for 22 hours in a public hospital without a toilet. Sure, that is not healthy but if you saw the one toilet that over 300 patients had to share, you'd understand. There were human secretions, blood and the like all over the floor and seat of the toilet. It's only fair to assume that some of those substances came into contact with the doorknob as well. There was no basin in sight for handwashing purposes.

I agree that taps in public toilets are also germ infested what with taps being the first thing people touch when they come out of the cubicle. Therefore, when I put soap on my hands, I also give the taps a good wash. Paranoid? Perhaps, but let's look at the taps.

According to uclue.com's research: ""...Diseases may also be spread when hands are contaminated with urine, saliva or other moist body substances. Microorganisms which may be transmitted by one or more of these body substances include cytomegalovirus, typhoid, staphylococcal organisms, and Epstein-barr virus. These germs may be transmitted from person to person or indirectly by contamination of food or inanimate objects such as toys. "

These germs could cause respiratory viruses, digestive diseases and Epstein-barr virus. The last mentioned is no fun at all - I suffer from it, also known as the "kissing disease" (often spread amongst teenagers - spread by saliva) or Glandular Fever, a very common auto immune disease. Although you catch the disease only once, recurring symptoms appear often, especially when you are stressed and your immune system is low. Right now I'm sitting here with swollen glands in my neck and armpits and a sore throat, fighting off the overwhelming fatigue. Many people suffer from fatigue these days and EBV is often misdiagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Great was my shock the other day when taking my little girl to the ladies' in a shopping centre. Waiting for a cubicle to open up, exits a lady about my mom's age. She must've been about 60 and made a beeline straight for the main door leading out into the shopping centre and into the supermarket without washing her hands. Just imagine the germs spread from her squeezing each of those juicy mangoes to feel which are just perfectly ripe?

I did some research and found some great hand washing tips. Change starts from inside - let's set an example!

1. Wet your hands with warm running water.
2. Add soap, then rub your hands together, making a soapy lather. Do this away from the running water for at least 15 seconds, being careful not to wash the lather away. Wash the front and back of your hands, as well as between your fingers and under your nails.
3. Rinse your hands well under warm running water. Let the water run back into the sink, not down to your elbows.
4. Dry hands thoroughly with a clean towel. Then turn off the water with a clean paper towel and dispose in a proper receptacle.

When working with children, bear these DON'Ts in mind:

* DON’T use a single damp cloth to wash a group of children’s hands.
* DON’T use a standing basin of water to rinse hands.
* DON’T use a common hand towel. Always use disposable towels in day care or food preparation settings.
* DON’T use sponges or non-disposable cleaning cloths unless you launder them on a regular basis, adding chlorine bleach to the wash water. Remember that germs thrive on moist surfaces!