Washing your hands is one of the most important things that you can do in any field, in any setting, and just a general skill and habit everyone should acquire. The body has approximately 50,000 bacteria per square inch, however, not all bacteria is dangerous to the health of humans. The human hands touch numerous items that could be laced with all types of harmful bacteria. This includes touching telephones, doorknobs, toilet seats and handles, and by getting sneezed into or coughed on, shaking hands, salt and pepper shakers at restaurants, attachments to public computers like the mouse and keyboard, and even items that may seem safe such as hymnals at church.
When working with young children, it is even much more important to ensure that you are using proper hand washing techniques frequently. Children carry more germs and bacteria because they touch their hands to their face more than adults do and they just have a habit at grabbing and touching things grown up think twice about touching. The common cold can be prevented just from not touching your hands to your face. Children are more susceptible to bacteria because of their environment, their peers, their ignorance of the dangers of the environment, and their lack of immunity to certain germs. Teaching young children the importance of hand washing is just as important as doing it yourself. Once children gain this hand washing technique as a habit, they can prevent themselves from catching diseases. The children are also more likely to pass on this information to their friends and family.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 22 million school days are lost each year due to the common cold. Hand Washing is the single most important means of preventing the spread of infection. Start off by letting clear, clean water run over the hands. Secondly, apply a generous amount of soap, preferably anti-bacterial. Then, rub the hands together to make a soapy lather and rub hands together, an wrists and making sure to get in between fingers, and it is best to do so at least 15-20 seconds. Next, rinse your hands well under the running water. Lastly, dry hands well with paper towels. And remember, wash your hands every time you touch something that has been touched by someone else.