Whether it’s a common cold virus, a strain of the flu, or a bacterial staph infections (see "Preventing MRSA" sidebar), most of these illness-causing germs arrived in our bodies through our hands. So when we are in contact with other people, handle food, or touch everyday objects, our illness risk increases… as does our risk of passing it along to others.

“Washing your hands is a major factor in preventing bacteria and viruses from infecting us and causing illness,” says Marlene Burkholder, RN, Infection Control Nurse at Lancaster General. “It’s inexpensive, and nothing is better at reducing your risk of getting sick.”

When to Wash

Most people are aware of the need to wash after using the rest room, although nearly one in four people neglect to take even this step, according to a recent research study performed by the American Society for Microbiology.

But hand washing should be even more frequent than that. While there’s no recommended number of times to wash your hands in a day, Marlene says recognizing those times when it’s needed will go a long way in preventing illnesses.

Other important times to wash hands include before eating and preparing food, after shopping, after coming in contact with other people or animals, when your hands are dirty, and after touching anything that might contaminate your hands.

Parents and grandparents should remember to wash their hands before serving snacks to their children or changing diapers. “Parents play an important role in setting a good hand washing example for their children,” Marlene says.

While more people are in tune with hand washing during cold weather months, when flu viruses are more prevalent, Marlene says good hand washing is important all year long. Infections do not disappear during summer months… and it’s impossible to determine exactly when “flu season” begins and when it ends.

How to Wash

Hand washing doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming to be effective. While some people use alcohol-based disinfectant products to kill the germs, simple soap and water is more than effective at breaking up the germs and mechanically removing them from your hands.

To effectively clean your hands:

• Wet your hands (warm water is preferred, though not essential)
• Scrub your hands thoroughly for 10-15 seconds, particularly getting between the fingers, and up to the wrist
• Rub hands under water to rinse and remove all of the soap
• Gently dry hands

“Just rinsing the hands with water isn’t good enough. It needs that mechanical action of rubbing the hands together with soap to be effective at removing the germs,” Marlene says.

When soap and water is not available, scrubbing your hands using a water-free cleaning product is also effective at eliminating germs, Marlene says.

At Lancaster General, effective hand washing is a key component to reducing infections and keeping patients healthy and safe. All staff follow guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for proper hand hygiene.

“Hand washing is the cornerstone to effective infection control,” Marlene says. “The better we all do at washing our hands, the less likely we will see infections and resulting illnesses.”

• Health Library: Prevention of Infectious Diseases
• Health Library: Handwashing
• MRSA Resources & Four-Part Video Presentation
• MRSA Fact Sheet