Do you find yourself catching cold and fever more times than you should? While a seasonal cold is normal, contracting it often is not. But the answer might lie (literally) in your hands – you could be making yourself sick by not washing your hands enough.
Germs find their way into your body through the hands
Often, the most common inlets for germs include the eyes, nose and mouth. Disease-causing germs enter the body via these three points of entry, and from there, they can settle in and cause illnesses. The germs that cause cough, common cold and influenza enter the body when one’s hands are contaminated with them – one can inadvertently touch their dirty hands to their face, for the germs to enter the system.
One cannot account for the actions of others – many people don’t cover their noses and mouths when they sneeze, or they leave their dirty tissues lying around – but they can certainly break the cycle of germ transmission by keeping their own hands clean. For this, a good antibacterial soap like Dettol is needed, as well as Dettol hand sanitiser. The sanitiser can be used to ‘wash’ the hands when one is away from soap and water.
Adopting the right hand washing technique is also important. Take your time over it – wash your hands under running water, take a coin-sized amount of Dettol antibacterial hand washing soap and work up a rich lather for at least 40 seconds. Wash off with clean water and wipe on paper towels.
How many times, and when?
There is never a good or bad time to wash your hands – wash them at least once every two hours, if not sooner. Take care to use Dettol antibacterial soap every time you wash your hands.
While frequent hand washing can eliminate germ build-up, there are certain times when hand washing is mandatory, such as after:
- Using the toilet
- Shaking hands with a sick person/being exposed to germs from a sneeze or cough
- Touching areas of common public use, such as elevator buttons, support rails in transport, public restroom taps and handles, telephone receivers, computer keyboards at work, somebody else’s mobile phone, staircase bannisters, etc.
- Preparing meals or handling raw food items
- Changing the baby’s diaper
- Doing the dishes, or washing the toilet or sink
- Nursing a sick person
- Cleaning the house
- Returning home from outside
- Being exposed to dirt, dust and mud
How a good antibacterial soap helps
Dettol antibacterial soap is the right tool to fight against disease-causing germs. It kills up to 99.9% germs on the skin, thus rendering it completely clean and free of harmful germs. Apart from being really tough on germs, it is very gentle on the skin. It cleans the skin gently, while moisturising it and imparting a pleasant perfume for a long time.