How To Properly Wash Your Hands

Four out of five people do wash their hands after they go to the bathroom, but even if you do, you may not be doing it right.

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear James, Happy Birthday to me.

Sing the Happy Birthday song twice and that puts you at about twenty seconds, which is the amount of time needed to properly wash your hands.

"Hand washing and doing it properly is your number one defense against getting sicks," says Gina Egan, Director of the Vilas County Health Department.

So how do you properly wash your hands?

Let's start from the beginning.

"My typical habits are to wash my hands for a long time, and that's what I thought was most important, but what I learned today is that it's not only important to wash your hands a long time, but you have to wet your hands first before you put the soap on," says Heidi Nykolayko, Coalition Coordinator of Vilas County Health Department.

Once you've wet your hands with warm water and applied the soap, begin to lather.

"You shouldn't just only wash your palms you should wash the top of your hands, in between your fingers, your wrists, and also check under your fingernails," says Megan Lenz a School to Work Program Participant in the Vilas County Health Dept.

When you're done don't just turn off the water, because you could re-contaminate your hands.

Instead, grab a towel to shut off the water, and then take another towel to dry your hands, and use that towel to open the door.

Hopefully these hand washing tips will lead to a healthy holiday and a new year that is well.