🧼 Hand Hygiene: The Simplest Way to Save Lives

We often think of life-saving medicines, surgeries, or technology when it comes to health. But did you know that one of the most powerful tools to prevent infections is already in your hands—literally?

Yes, we are talking about hand hygiene.

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✋ Why Hand Hygiene Matters

Our hands touch countless surfaces every day—doorknobs, mobile phones, money, food, and even our face. Germs easily travel from these surfaces into our body, causing infections like:

• Diarrheal diseases

• Respiratory infections (cold, flu, COVID-19)

• Skin infections

• Hospital-acquired infections

🦠 Studies show that proper hand hygiene can reduce 30–50% of common infections.

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🧴 Two Main Methods of Hand Hygiene

1. Handwashing with Soap and Water

• Best for visibly dirty or greasy hands.

• Scrub for at least 20 seconds.

• Don’t forget areas between fingers, under nails, and the wrist.

2. Hand Sanitizer (Alcohol-based, ≥60%)

• Useful when soap and water aren’t available.

• Apply enough to cover all surfaces of the hand.

• Rub until completely dry (20 seconds).

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🕒 When Should You Clean Your Hands?

• Before and after eating

• After using the toilet

• After coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose

• Before and after touching wounds or a sick person

• After handling garbage or money

• In hospitals: before and after patient contact

👉 Healthcare workers follow the “Five Moments of Hand Hygiene” by WHO—before touching a patient, before aseptic tasks, after exposure to fluids, after touching a patient, and after touching surroundings.

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🚫 Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Rinsing quickly without scrubbing properly

• Not drying hands completely (moisture helps germs survive)

• Using shared dirty towels to dry hands

• Overusing sanitizers instead of washing when hands are visibly dirty

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🌟 Doctor’s Note

Hand hygiene is simple, affordable, and effective, yet often neglected. Whether at home, school, or hospital, this small habit can save lives by breaking the chain of infection.

💙 At ApexMedicity, we remind you that prevention starts with the basics. And clean hands are the first step toward a healthy community.