Hand Hygiene 

When should you wash your hands?

Generally, you should wash your hands whenever they are soiled or have touched objects that could be contaminated. You should always wash your hands after the following:
o    Using the toilet
o    Cleaning toilets and bathrooms
o    Handling potentially contaminated or soiled clothes and bed linens
o    Cleaning up after vomiting or fecal accident
o    Cleaning and sanitizing environmental surfaces
o    Before preparing food
o    After eating, drinking and smoking
o    After removing gloves

What is the best way to wash your hands?

o    When your hands are visibly soiled, wash them with soap and water.
o    When your hands are not visibly soiled, wash them with soap and water or with an alcohol-based hand rub or gel if soap and water are not available.

When washing your hands using soap and water, be sure to practice the following hand hygiene steps:
o    Wet hands
o    Apply soap and rub vigorously for at least 20 seconds
o    Rinse with water
o    Dry thoroughly with paper towel
o    Use towel to turn off faucet

Liquid soap is better than bar soap; bar soap harbors germs that may be transferred to your hands. When washing your hands, pay special attention to the nail areas as well as the area between your fingers. It is important to dry your hands thoroughly, because wet hands are more likely to transfer germs to other people or surfaces. Single-use paper towels or air dryers are recommended; reusable cloth towels, like bar soap, can harbor germs and should be avoided.

What if you do not have access to soap and water?

Alcohol-based hand antiseptics, or hand sanitizers, are about as effective as simple handwashing with soap and water. They are not very effective at removing some contaminants, such as bacterial spores and specific non-enveloped viruses (noroviruses), but are excellent at removing many bacteria and some enveloped viruses.

Hand sanitizers should not be substituted for soap and water if your hands are visibly soiled or contaminated with organic material. When using hand sanitizers, it is also important to cover all surfaces of the hands and fingers.