How many times a day should we wash our hands?
Wash our hands is an everyday behaviour with a decisive role in curbing infections and contact-transmitted diseases.
Winter always brings with it a considerable uptick in respiratory infections such as the flu. This is, therefore, the best time to remind ourselves to wash our hands properly, as it continues to be one of the most important health priorities and recommendations. For decades, and particularly after the covid-19 pandemic, this everyday gesture has been considered one of the most effective preventive tools.
Public health experts insist: we must not return to our previous ways. Handwashing remains, after the health crisis five years ago, a vital tool in the fight against seasonal winter diseases and infections, and also in the battle against antimicrobial resistance, considered one of the ten greatest threats to global health.
But, apart from common sense, when and how should you wash ourhands? Is there an ideal number of times a day?
The importance of remembering to wash our hands
The Spanish Ministry of Health stresses that adopting this good habit is the simplest and most effective option we have to avoid, at home, at work or on the streets, the spread of infections and diseases that are transmitted through contact. In fact, various studies indicate that washing your hands five times a day can reduce the probability of contagion of infectious diseases, especially respiratory and gastrointestinal pathogens, by up to 50%.
An example: when a person with the flu coughs, they expel up to 3,000 droplets, which can remain active for hours on some surfaces. All you have to do is touch a doorknob on a contaminated door or table for those microbes to transfer to your hands and, from there, to your face.
Research from the University of New South Wales has revealed that a person touches their face 23 times per hour on average, and 10 of those contacts will involve the eyes, nose or mouth. And most importantly: these areas are the gateways for many viruses. For this reason, hand washing is seen as a vaccine that can prevent many infections in a simple manner.
When should hands be washed?
Although it is true that there is no magic number valid for all people, some studies suggest that remembering to wash our hands between 6 and 10 times a day is linked to a lower risk of infection. In any case, apart from the number of times they wash their hands, the most important thing is to be aware of the key moments when washing is required.
It is crucial to wash our hands properly, for example, before and after being in contact with a sick person. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the importance of remembering to wash our hands whenever there may be contact with microorganisms, either in healthcare facilities, at home or in public spaces. And, obviously, you have to wash our hands when they are visibly dirty or when entering or leaving public spaces.
How to wash our hands properly?
Washing your hands is simple and just as important as brushing your teeth or a healthy diet. However, doing it properly requires attention and following these five steps carefully for about 40 to 60 seconds.
- Moisten your hands with water, turn off the tap and apply an adequate amount of soap.
- Rub your hands together until foam is formed: make sure you include the back of your hands, the gaps between your fingers and under your nails.
- Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. A classic trick: sing Happy Birthday twice.
- Rinse under running water.
- Dry with a clean towel, disposable paper or air dry.
Ultimately, hand washing, a gesture that is as commonplace as it is simple, has an enormous health and social impact. It reduces infections, helps protect vulnerable people, such as children and the elderly, and is an inexpensive and very effective practice. All you need is water, soap and focusing for a few seconds.
