Proper hand washing is one of the best ways to prevent you and your family from getting sick.

You probably only think to wash your hands before you eat dinner, if you even think to do so, but there are so many other times you should wash your hands.

1. After using the bathroom: This is the number one time when you should be washing your hands.
2. Before, during, and after handling food: You should never prepare food you and others will be eating without washing your hands first.  You should also wash your hands frequently throughout the cooking process, as you come into contact with household items and utensils that hold germs.
3. After caring for someone who is sick: Sick people are, ya know, sick.  Without being rude, try to limit your face-to-face contact such as hugging on kissing to avoid the spread of air-borne illnesses.
4. Before and after treating a wound: You don’t have to go overboard and handle open wounds with latex gloves and a surgical mask, but touching a wound with dirty hands can lead to a serious infection.
5. After coughing or sneezing into your hands: To limit the germs you’re potentially spreading to others, avoid coughing and sneezing directly into your hands by doing so into a tissue or your elbow.
6. After handling garbage: This should be a no-brainer.
7. After touching animals/pets: While your furry friend is fun to cuddle with, they are hosting a plethora of germs from being outside and bringing them into your home.
8. After shaking hands: Once that business meeting is done, or if you just left your job interview, be sure to wash your hands or keep hand-sanitizer readily available.
9. After opening doors: After everyone’s touched the door, who knows what germs you’ve come into contact with.
10. At the end of the day: If you touched any of the following throughout the day, the best thing to do before going to sleep is washing your hands.

While proper hand washing can stop the spread of harmful germs, you can still get sick.  Luckily, AFC Urgent Care West Long Branch is here for your urgent care needs.

Some of the symptoms of upper respiratory illnesses we treat at our walk-in urgent care clinic include:

• Sneezing
• Coughing
• Dry Throat
• Chills
• Body Fatigue
• Dehydration

Our walk-in urgent care clinic is open seven days a week to treat a number of upper respiratory illnesses.

For more information about our urgent care services, please call to speak with one of our medical professional at 732-222-8000.