National Handwashing Awareness Week – December 1-7
By Catherine Rice, Vice President of Marketing/Outreach at Health Partnership Clinic
Personal hygiene begins and ends with our hands
Healthy hands are happy hands! One of the simplest and most effective ways to stay well is by keeping our hands clean. Frequent handwashing helps stop viruses and bacteria from spreading—right alongside covering coughs and sneezes and staying home when you’re under the weather.
At Health Partnership Clinic, we make hand hygiene a top priority to protect both patients and staff. At home, the same rule applies—clean hands keep everyone healthier. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers practical guidance on when and how to wash your hands properly.
Remember, handwashing is one of the best defenses against illnesses like COVID-19, flu, RSV and the common cold. In fact, the CDC reports that washing hands can prevent one in three diarrhea-related illnesses and one in five respiratory infections.
How Germs Spread
Germs can spread easily when we touch our faces, prepare food, or handle shared objects. You can pick up and pass along germs when you:
- Touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands!
- Prepare or eat food with unwashed hands!
- Touch contaminated surfaces or objects
- Blow your nose, cough, or sneeze into your hands and then touch others or shared items
Did you know… A sneeze can travel up to 200 miles per hour and release about 40,000 droplets into the air!
When to Wash Your Hands
Keep yourself and your loved ones healthy by washing your hands often—especially:
- Before, during and after preparing food
- Before eating
- Before and after caring for someone who’s sick
- Before and after treating a wound
- After using the toilet
- After changing diapers or cleaning a child who’s used the toilet
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
- After touching animals or handling pet food
- After touching garbage
Fun fact: The CDC found that only 31 percent of men and 65 percent of women wash their hands after using a public restroom. Yikes—let’s do better!
Also, wash your hands after being in public places where you touch shared surfaces (like door handles, shopping carts, or checkout screens) and before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Five Steps to Wash Your Hands the Right Way
Clean hands help stop germs from spreading—at home, at work and throughout our communities.
Follow these simple steps:
- Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap and apply soap.
- Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails.
- Scrub for at least 20 seconds—hum the “Happy Birthday” song twice if you need a timer!
- Rinse well under clean, running water.
- Dry with a clean towel or air dry.
If soap and water aren’t available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (at least 60 percent alcohol). Always supervise young children—swallowing sanitizer can be dangerous.
Make It a Family Habit
Good habits start young! Get the whole family involved in handwashing. HPC has created fun, easy-to-follow handwashing tip sheets for kids—perfect for home or the classroom.
Together, we can make healthy hands a habit—this week and all year long.
