The holiday season is indeed the most wonderful time of the year. As early as September, colorful decorations can be seen all around, families gather and the undeniable buzzling crowd during Christmas shopping spree. Hence, during this time, we must not forget to prioritize our health and safety when participating in such activities. Keep in mind that the threats of COVID 19 is still lurking around.

One of the most crucial actions we can take to prevent getting sick and, in any case, infecting others is washing our hands. By not washing hands with soap and running water, many diseases can spread. Animal or human feces (poop) are a significant source of diseases including Salmonella and E. coli. Hence, it can spread respiratory infections including coronavirus, adenovirus, hand, foot, and mouth disease and a lot more.

These germs can be transferred to hands through less obvious means, such as handling raw foods that have minute amounts of animal feces on them, such as after using the restroom or changing a diaper. One trillion germs can be found in a single gram of human feces, or about the weight of a paper clip. Additionally, it can be transferred to hands if someone touches an object that has been contaminated by someone else's cough, sneeze, or other bodily fluid. These microbes can spread from one person to another and sicken individuals if they get on hands and aren't cleaned off.

Hands are cleaned off germs by washing them with soap and running water. This lessens the risk of illnesses because of the following reasons:

• Without realizing it, people frequently touch their eyes, noses, and mouths. Through the mouth, nose, and eyes, germs can enter the body and make us ill.
• Foods and beverages can become contaminated with germs from unwashed hands while being prepared or consumed. Under some circumstances, germs can grow in some meals and beverages and make people ill.
• Unwashed hands can spread germs to other items like toys, table surfaces, and handrails before spreading to other people's hands.
• Eliminating germs by handwashing aids in the prevention of diarrhea, respiratory infections, and possibly even skin and eye infections.

As we celebrate the yuletide season with lots of festive delicious food, may we remind everyone to make it a habit to wash our hands properly. It may be during the process of preparation or up to the serving of food so we all can have a happy and safe holiday!

(//Jessabell B. Mondano, CMU Intern)

References:

Akyol, A., Ulusoy, H., & Ozen, I. (2006). Handwashing: a simple, economical and effective method for preventing nosocomial infections in intensive care units. The Journal of hospital infection, 62(4), 395–405. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2005.10.007

 Hillier M. D. (2020). Using effective hand hygiene practice to prevent and control infection. Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain): 1987), 35(5), 45–50. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.2020.e11552

Toney-Butler, T. J., Gasner, A., & Carver, N. (2022). Hand Hygiene. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29262113/