Every year, Global Handwashing Day is celebrated on the 15th day of October. This day is a yearly reminder dedicated to the advocacy of spreading awareness on the significance of handwashing, its efficiency and effectiveness in disease prevention, and its benefits to the community all around the world.

Handwashing with soap and water is a simple, affordable and effective way to reduce bacteria in our hands. Not only is handwashing beneficial to each individual, but it also affects the whole population, especially children, as it controls the spread of bacteria and therefore prevents the spread of diseases. Handwashing is especially important at certain times of the day such as after using the bathroom, before, during and after preparing food, before eating, and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose ^[1].

Handwashing works when soap and water are put into a lather. This then traps and removes bacteria and other dirt from hands. Wetting the hands with clean water before applying soap helps to make better lather than applying soap to dry hands. A sign of a good lather is when there is formation of pockets called micelles which then trap germs, dirt, and harmful chemicals ^[2].

Scrubbing your hands with lathered soap for 20 seconds is important to this process as it physically destroys germs and removes germs and chemicals from the skin. And when you rinse your hands with clean water, you wash away the germs and chemicals from your hands ^[2].

Proper way of handwashing is significant as this exponentially reduces the number of microorganisms in our hands. For proper handwashing, follow these five steps to clean hands most effectively ^[3].

1. Wet your hands with clean, running water. Turn off the tap to conserve water.
2. Apply soap to your hands and lather your hands by rubbing them together. Lather your palms, backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. For a convenient timer, hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end, twice.
4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water. Make sure that all parts of your hands are rinsed.
5. Turn off the faucet using a clean tissue or your elbow and dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Especially in this trying times of COVID-19 pandemic, proper handwashing should not be disregarded. Time and time again, it has proven its importance in preventing diseases and their spread in the community. So, the next time you wash, be sure to remember and apply these easy steps in washing your hands. Also encourage the people around you to do the same as this Global Handwashing Day, we work hand in hand to campaign for the awareness on handwashing. (PNFPNadela/OIC-NPCFlores)

References:

^[1] https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/global-handwashing-day.html

^[2] https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/faqs.html

^[3] https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html