The Correct Way to Wash Your Hands

Coronavirus, or Covid-19, is a serious health risk facing people all over the world, and health authorities have emphasised that regularly washing your hands with soap is critical to preventing infection.

Why soap? Soap is highly effective at breaking down fats, and is therefore a potent means of stripping the lipid (fat) layer from viral organisms, including Covid-19.

To ensure your soap is as effective as possible, you'll need to adhere to a more thorough and complete method of hand washing.

Here is the method to follow when washing your hands to keep them as sanitised as possible.

1. Roll up your sleeves, exposing hands and forearms.
2. Wet your hands and forearms thoroughly under running water.
3. Vigorously wash with soap for more than thirty seconds, from hand to elbow, for each hand/forearm.

   While washing, count out One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, and so on, until you get to Thirty Mississippi. Do this for each hand/forearm.

   Counting out loud like this is a great way of making sure you've washed your hands and forearms for long enough to allow the soap to do its job thoroughly. (Anything with four syllables will work: One Happy Birthday, Two Happy Birthday, etc.)

4. Completely rinse the soap suds from your hands and forearms under running water, then use a clean towel to turn off the tap.
5. Dry your hands and arms with a fresh, clean towel.
6. All done!

 It is recommended that you use this method of hand washing several times each day.

More information:

• Additional information about what you can do to prevent infection can be found here.
• Here is a quite detailed explanation of why washing your hands with soap can be so effective.