In the season of influenza, colds, and other illness-causing viruses and germs, I am reminded of the lesson I picked up as a chaplain in a downtown Chicago hospital: the best way to wash your hands.
I know, I know. Seems basic.
Seems pretty ridiculous doesn't it? Everyone knows how to wash their hands, don't they? Well, apparently they do not.
I just finished reading this article on MSN regarding ten ways people inadvertently expose themselves to the flu.
I wholly concur with their assessment that worrying too much can cause an adverse affect on health:
Research does show, however, that anxiety can manifest itself in a wide variety of ailments—including acid reflux, insomnia, skin rashes, and depression—so it shouldn't be surprising that the added stress of worrying about swine flu can also weaken your immune system and leave you more vulnerable to catching a bug.
However, they jogged my memory about hand-washing. You should wash your hands for 20-30 seconds, using as hot of water as you can stand, making sure to get wash between the fingers and around the wrists. Most people wash their hands for 3-6 seconds. You typically feel clean in about 10 seconds. A good portion of people who know the recommendation still fall short:
Frequent hand-washing, as often as 10 times a day, is one of the most recommended defenses against the flu, but 39% of respondents seldom or never wash after coughing or sneezing. And almost half of the respondents who do wash only do so for 15 seconds or less, despite recommendations to wash for 20 seconds or more.
And what I learned as one of the best ways to know if you've washed your hands long enough is to sing the "Happy Birthday Song" twice, which is exactly what the CDC recommends.
As chaplains we also hit the hand sanitizer and/or put on gloves every time we entered a new patient's room, but for standard non-medical-facility life you might not have to go quite that far. :) Which reminds me, if you're supplementing with hand sanitizer, remember to get the right kind and that it doesn't replace washing your hands regularly.
So sing, hum, or silently bop along to more, happy flu prevention!