- Handwashing is important everywhere but especially in school where there are a lot of different people from different households.
- Germs can live outside the body after being coughed, sneezed or breathed out by someone with the virus.
- It’s easy to pick up germs on our hands by touching surfaces which other people with the virus may have touched.
- Then, it’s easy for germs to get into our body because we often touch our eyes, nose and mouth without noticing.
- Washing the germs off our hands regularly reduces the risk of those germs getting into our bodies.
- We need to wash all parts of our hands with soap and running water for 20 seconds.
- Hand gel can be used when soap and water are not available.
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Viruses live longer on hard surfaces around school like benches, desks, keyboards and handrails – more people will pick up the virus if they don’t wash their hands after touching these hard surfaces.
If you touch any of these hard surfaces, and then touch your face, you are more likely to become infected. The problem is that we often touch our face without noticing like rubbing our eyes or biting our fingernails.
Washing your hands with soap and water stops viruses being passed from your hands to your eyes, nose and mouth.
It’s important to try and wash your hands regularly, but it’s especially important to wash your hands or use hand gel when:
- you come in from outside
- before you eat
- when you have touched something that many other people might have touched like keyboards and handrails
- after you’ve sneezed or coughed
- after you’ve been to the toilet
The best way to wash your hands – advice from the NHS:
Soap and Water
- Wet your hands and use enough soap to cover them completely.
- Rub the palms and back of your hands.
- Rub the tips of your fingers and thumbs and in-between them.
- Washing should take at least 20 seconds.
- Rinse with running water.
- Dry hands on a clean towel, a disposable towel or under a dryer.
Hand Gel
- Squeeze some gel the size of your thumbnail into the palm of your hand.
- Spread it all over your hands.
- Rub the palms and back of your hands.
- Rub between your fingers and on the tips.
- Keep rubbing your hands until they are dry – for at least 20 seconds.
Hand gel needs to have at least 60% alcohol in it to kill viruses. If you are not sure whether your hand gel is strong enough to kill viruses, ask an adult to check for you.
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