Washing your hands – the key to staying healthy

Germs are everywhere. The good news is that not all germs are harmful. In fact, most of them are harmless and some of them are good for us. However, it’s true that viruses and bacteria can lead to the common cold and flu, and more serious illnesses such as the food borne E. coli and Salmonella.¹

Which is why hand washing is so important.

Every year, around 1.5 million days of school are missed by students due to illness in Queensland state schools alone.² Hand washing has also been shown to be one of the best ways to prevent illness and the spread of disease.³ In fact, encouraging good hand washing practices has been shown to decrease the number of days children take off school due to illness.^4,5

Hand washing works by cleansing the skin from pathogens including bacteria and viruses. In everyday life, it prevents infection and illness from spreading between family members and sometimes, through a whole community.^3,6

The basic rule is to wash hands:⁶

• before preparing food
• after handling uncooked meat and poultry
• before eating
• after coughing, sneezing, or blowing one's nose into a tissue
• after using the bathroom
• after touching animals or anything in an animal's environment.

Using hand sanitisers to keep hands clean

Another option to keep hands free from harmful germs is the waterless ‘fast-acting’ hand sanitisers. Alcohol-based sanitisers act quickly and significantly reduce the number of germs on the skin.⁷

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