The Importance of Hand Washing

One of the most effective ways to not spread germs is handwashing. Clean hands can stop germs from spreading from one person to another, and even throughout an entire community. You can help yourself and your loved ones stay healthy and prevent the spread of COVID-19 by washing your hands often, especially during these times when you are likely to get and spread germs.1

COVID-19 is spread from person-to-person through respiratory droplets. When an infected individual coughs or sneezes, these droplets are dispersed in the area the person occupies. One possible way a person can get COVID-19 is by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it, and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. For this reason, handwashing is one of the major ways to prevent the spread of the virus, and helps keep you and your loved ones healthy and safe.3

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) handwashing with soap removes germs from hands and in turn helps prevent the spread of viruses like COVID-19 because:

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

• Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of foods or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick.

• Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like handrails, table tops, or toys, and then transferred to another person’s hands.

• Removing germs through handwashing therefore helps prevent respiratory infections and viruses such as COVID-19.2

In the event soap and water are not readily available, and you are not able to wash your hands, an alternative is to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. The sanitizer’s product label should specify the amount of alcohol it contains.

Though using hand sanitizer can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands it does not get rid of all types of germs. Hand sanitizers may not be as effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy, and might not remove harmful chemicals from hands like pesticides and heavy metals.1

Due to the nature of a respiratory illness like COVID-19, and the way the virus spreads, the best thing we can do as a community to prevent the spread of infection is to wash our hands.

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6101 Pine Ridge Road
Naples, FL 34119
239-348-4000

Physicians Regional – Collier Blvd
8300 Collier Boulevard
Naples, FL 34114
239-354-6000

Resources:
1. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html
2. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html
3. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/transmission.html