
Hand washing
is your number one defense against illness. |
Alcohol-based hand cleansers are
also effective.
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Wash
your hands the right way

Word
Match (USDA)
Wash
your hands coloring page (USDA)
Use
soap and warm water (USDA)
Take
the germ bug quiz!
(Tacoma-Pierce County Health
Dept.)
Hand
washing (CDC)
Foodborne
Illness (USDA)
Childcare
facility poster (USDA)
Download
the W.A.S.H. Up Westchester Kit
View
pictures of the Hand Washing Event
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Why?
Hand
washing is considered the single most important means of preventing the
spread of infection. Ensuring that both educators and children know
the correct way to wash their hands will help control the spread of upper
respiratory infections like colds, coughs, or flu, and intestinal
infections, including those that cause diarrhea.
Proper
hand washing is something we should have learned by the time we get
through kindergarten. It is a simple, but important technique for
everyone to learn and use. It is the most cost-effective way to
decrease the spread of illness. Although schools and childcare
facilities are excellent places for learning and practicing hand washing,
it is becoming a lost behavior.
The
quantity and variety of germs that we carry on our hands everyday is
astounding. When we forget to wash our hands, or don't wash our
hands correctly, we can spread these germs to other people. Hand
washing, when done correctly, can help us avoid spreading and receiving
germs. Remembering to wash your hands correctly and frequently is
the first step toward staying healthy.
How?
Use the links to
the left to join in the effort to stop the spread of germs.
When?
before
you touch anything used to prepare food, and
before you touch
food that will not be cooked;
after
you work with raw meat, fish and poultry;
after
you handle trash and take out garbage;
after
using the bathroom or changing a diaper.
Use regular soap. Antibacterial soap isn't necessary. These
soaps do kill bacteria, but antibacterial soaps may contribute
to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
Follow the steps below and learn how to properly wash
your hands... |
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Wet hands |
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Apply soap & rub for 20
seconds. It's the scrubbing that really counts; it helps to
dislodge the germs and send them down the drain. |
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Rinse |
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Dry with paper towel |
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Use towel to turn off faucet |
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