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At this time of the year, a lot of people start to forget about the flu season., but in reality, flu season has just started! Flu season ranges from mid-Septemeber to late December. Even if you have gotten your flu shot you should still be taking precautionary measures to stay away from the flu this year! One of the best ways & easiest ways to get rid of the flu is as simple as washing your hands. Here are some tips on hand washing & how you should do it to prevent the flu!
Think about how often you wash your hands
If you can count how much you wash your hands in a day, odds are you aren’t washing your hands enough. your hands can hold thousands of germs a day & are your main source of contact with foreign objects. Think about your normal day & how many things you touch. The flu virus can be on any one of those objects. Some reason you should wash your hands can be:
- After petting a dog/pet
- After touching plants
- After touching communal railings while traveling
- After touching someone who may be infected
How long do you wash your hands?
Washing your hands shouldn’t just be throwing water on your hands or washing them for 5 seconds. Washing the thousands of germs that have been sitting on your hands takes a little while. It has been proven that germs & bacteria get killed by warm water. So the first step to correctly washing your hands is to use warm water. The next step is to wash your hands for the recommended amount of time. The recommended time of hand washing is to wash them for at least 45 seconds. The easiest way to remember this is to just sing happy birthday in your head since the song is about 45 seconds in length.
What if I’m not near a sink?
We know that most of the times your hands will get dirty you will not be conveniently near a sink. This is why you should carry around some hand sanitizer! Hand sanitizer is a valuable option that can replace hand washing if the sink is not around! We hope these tips will help you in the future to stay away from the flu!
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