Among the individual protection measures against respiratory diseases, it has been repeated to us – for weeks – that we emphasize the process of washing hands, frequent hand hygiene with soap and water. For what reason?
It is a basic hygiene method but no less important. The threat of COVID-19 appears to have sparked paranoia among the public, despite being a new type of flu. But a gesture as simple as washing hands (as well as sneezing into the elbow or into tissues on potentially vulnerable people, such as the elderly), is one of the best ways we have at this time to stop the spread of the virus.
For what reason? According to the World Health Organization , basically because it melts the protective home from the virus . Washing your hands with soap and water has the ability to "dissolve" the layer of fat in which the virus is wrapped, managing to kill it after the disappearance of its membranous envelope (lipid envelope in which there are also virus proteins). Hand hygiene has scientific evidence in the prevention and control of infections, so we must not disdain this simple gesture.
The best way to wash your hands? The steps:
First, you have to get your hands wet.
You must use enough soap and warm water.
Cover the entire surface of the hands and rub them, intertwining the fingers of both.
We cannot forget to rub the back of the hands, fingers and nails.
Rinsing both hands and drying them with towels in one go would be the most ideal scenario.
