Pandemic Diaries Entry # 3

 

I recently listened to a webinar about COVID and chronic illnesses. One of my key takeaways is the term "COVID Prevention Triad," composed of wearing face masks and face shields, hand washing, and observing physical distance.

Since I have discussed the importance of face masks, let us now talk about the importance of handwashing in preventing the spread of the COVID virus. Also, which is more effective in cleaning the hands, soap, or alcohol?

Germs, Don't Pass it to Others

Did you know that you can introduce germs to your body if you touch a contaminated surface and touch either your mouth, eyes, or nose? If you eat without washing your hands, you spread germs to your body as well. On the other hand, if you use your contaminated hand to touch other surfaces you will spread germs to other people.

Do you know what will happen if you use your hand to cover your mouth to sneeze, and you touch other people? You’re right! You passed your germs to them as well. So, what can you do to prevent this from happening?

Mommy says, “Wash Your Hands”

Any soap, even an inexpensive one, can kill the germs that we might be carrying in our hands. Soap and clean water is the best combination to have clean hands. You know the drill:

·      wet your hands with water

·      rub your hands with a soap bar or liquid soap

·      scrub your hands

·      rinse your hands with clean water

·      dry your hands with clean tissue or cloth

You need to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds to effectively remove any germs in your hands. You can sing "Happy Birthday" twice while washing.

Washing hands should be a habit, with or without the pandemic. Since the beginning of time, our mothers have been reminding us to wash our hands before eating. We are also reminded to wash hands after using the toilet.

You should wash your hands often when you are cooking. This is an effective way to prevent the spread of germs in the food.

Since the pandemic, I prefer staying at home. I only leave home to get to work. And I try to complete my grocery list so that I won’t have to go to the store often. If I have important transactions, I try to do as many as I can so I don’t have to go out again.

And for those rare occasions that I need to go out, I promised myself that I would bring my own liquid soap. This means I won’t have to worry when the soap in the public restroom ran out. I’ll never have to experience wanting to wash my hands, only to find out that there is no more soap in the dispenser.

Soap versus alcohol

You might ask, "What if I'm outside my house but I don't have access to soap and water?" Your other option would be to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to clean your hands.

If you are outside, you might want to wipe with alcohol the surface you’re touching. When I’m doing the grocery, I would spray alcohol on the cart handle (and wipe it with a tissue) before I use the grocery cart. On the other hand, I spray alcohol on my hand before I touch the ATM and other similar machines. After the transaction, I spray alcohol on my hands again. I know I'm not overreacting.

But which is more effective in cleaning your hands? Let’s look at this video from TedEd that I found on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7KKkElpyKQ

Although water and soap are still more effective in washing hands, taking along a bottle of alcohol with you also helps.