Affecting 67 countries around the world, the new coronavirus has already infected about 88,591 people. Among those that have been ill, about 3,051 died due to the complications brought by it. Unfortunately, due to several factors, authorities fear these numbers still have possibilities to rise.
To at least protect yourself from the new novel coronavirus outbreak, the experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shared several ways on how one can do it. One of the best ways to do it is through frequent and proper handwashing.
By washing your hands, you will be able to control not just the spread of coronavirus but also remove the pathogens that could lead to several diseases such as Salmonella, Amoebiasis, and Flu. The friction and lather you create by washing your hands with soap and water lift the microbes, dirt, and grease off your skin. In doing this, you need to follow five steps: wet, lather, scrub, rinse, and dry.
WET
In wetting your hands, the water you will use doesn't have to be warm or cold. What it only needs is to be clean and flowing for a more effective way to keep your hands clean. Wet your hands until you think it is completely ready for the soap.
LATHER
Lathering soap is one of the most important keys to remove the pathogens in your hands. This is why you have to invest a bit of your time in lathering your hands well with soap to get the best result.
Remember, the kind of soap isn't that important. Regular soaps can do as much as antibacterial soaps. The key is to wash your hands completely: the palm, in between your fingers, the back of your hands, and under your nails.
SCRUB
Make sure to scrub your hands well for at least 20 seconds. Why? Because experts say, that is the estimated enough time you will need to wash all the parts of your hands for you to be well protected, as revealed by Slate. Washing your hands less than that might mean you have missed a part of your hand or you might have not scrubbed it very well.
RINSE
After lifting the pathogens in your hands, it is indeed better to flush them off. You can do that by rinsing the soap in your hands using a clean flowing water.
DRY
Most people thought washing your hands is the only important thing to do, but experts say drying it is also as crucial. Wet hands can pick up and transfer viruses more than the dry ones. So for extra protection, dry your hands off after every wash.
