Wash hands for a healthy lifestyle

According to the UNICEF, hand washing with soap, particularly after contact with excreta, can reduce diarrhoeal diseases by over 40 per cent and respiratory infections by 30 per cent. Hand washing by birth attendants before delivery has been shown to reduce mortality rates by 19 per cent while a 4 per cent reduction in risk of death was found if mothers washed their hands prior to handling their new-born. 

However, though proven to be effective, this practise is seldom followed by many, says Dr K Kolandaisamy, director, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, who adds that the biggest challenge in the field of community health is poor personal hygiene.

He says, “Hands are the biggest carrier of germs that open your body to wide variety of illnesses.” He adds that while cities fare better when compared to the rural areas when it comes to hand hygiene, it is still limited to just a few sections of the population.”

Since children are more susceptible to illnesses, and often tend to get afflicted with some ailment or the other, it is important to know some of the reasons why they need extra protection in today’s world, and why it is necessary for them to be a bit more cautious. Dr Madhuri says that the importance of handwashing should be cultivated at a young age. 

“Hand washing is the single most important factor which can prevent the infectious diseases from spreading, not just in children but even in adults of all ages. Children should be encouraged to wash their hands after handling animals if they are ill and before spending time with a new-born,” added Dr Madhuri.

However, schools are the important centres for imparting the importance of the regimen. Says Dr Sudha Rathna Prabhu, Child Specialist,” One of the commonest complaints I hear from my patients, is they are not comfortable using the toilets in the schools, largely because of poor maintenance. This is a serious concern because it discourages them from performing an important task. Some also complain that they do not have hand wash soaps or liquid. Every school must take up hygiene measures as priority and encourage students to use the toilet or wash their hands whenever necessary.” 

If one is determined to fight infectious diseases and against organism and germs that have built their own resistance, hand wash should be on top of the agenda, says Dr Kolandaisamy. “We have to continue campaigning for the same aggressively, through public service advertisements and slogans at various levels, till the change in mindset happens,” he adds.

It is also an important step towards combating Hepatitis A that is contracted through contaminated food or water, points our Dr Madhuri. Hand washing with soap removes germs from hands. This helps prevent infections because: 

People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even realising it. Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose and mouth and make us sick. 

Germs from unwashed hands can get into food and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of food or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick. Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like handrails, tabletops, or toys, and then transferred to another person’s hands. 

Removing germs through handwashing therefore helps prevent diarrhoea and respiratory infections and may even help prevent skin and eye infections.