8 Facts About Washing Hands That You Don’t Want To Ignore

Written by Ameya C  • 

How many times should I wash my hands in a day? Is there a proper way to do it? Should I use soap, or would water suffice? If these questions seem to pop up in your mind regularly, then don’t worry. We are here to help answer all of them, and some more. How? Well read on and learn some amazing facts about washing your hands. They might not be terribly exciting, but they are without a sliver of any doubt, terribly important.

Here are 8 amazing facts about washing hands that you don’t want to overlook, but chances are, you end up doing so anyway.

How Many Times In A Day?

Fact: Studies say that you should wash your hands around 6 times in a day.

So, there you have it, the answer to your question. Now, you know how many times you should wash your hands.  As we are awake for around 16 hours, once in every 2.5 hours should do the trick. Your palms have potentially touched 1500 potentially germy surfaces between washings.

How Long Do Germs Survive?

Fact: Germs are tenacious little buggers, and can survive on your hands anywhere from 2 to 24 hours

You may have washed your hands ten minutes ago, but if you have a cold, and you just blew your nose, wash your hands more often than normal. It helps rid your hands of any remaining germs.

[Recommended Read: Effective Home Remedies For Common Cold]

Keep Your Hands To Yourself

Fact: You can easily touch up to 300 germ-infested surfaces in just half an hour.

Incredible isn’t it, and we aren’t even counting the ones among you who love gardening.

What that means is that you could get sick from germs left by others on ten surfaces. Did you know that a study by Purdue University in 2012, found that cell phones contain 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat!

Fact: The average woman or man touches her/his face around 16 times in an hour.

Since we are on the subject of to touch or not to touch, let’s be clear. You can’t avoid touching your face. But you can try to keep your hands clean and free from germs. So, wash your hands six times a day and stay safe.

Technique Matters- It Always Does:

Technique is important for everything that you do, but who’d have thought that washing hands had a technique?

Fact: According to WHO, the right technique and regular hand washing is more important and prevents more diseases than vaccines or medical treatment.

Incredible, isn’t it! However, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need vaccines. Follow your doctor’s advice on that, but surprise him with the above fact.

Reducing The Risks:

Washing your hands frequently can half the risk of contracting foodborne diseases.

According to the CDC, washing hands reduces the risk of diseases by around 50%. So, all you need to do is wash your hands properly, and you get to keep those bacteria at bay [1].

Soap And Water:

Okay, we admit that this one’s a bit obvious. It’s why our mums always insisted on using soap and water. So, now you know! But, remember…

Washing hands with water and not soap, does not always kill those pesky little germs. They can survive a bath, but not the antiseptic hand wash.

Arresting Diseases:

Washing hands properly could prevent the 75 million odd cases of diarrhea and stomach problems affecting people in the United States each year.

Whoa! That’s a huge number! Wash your hands frequently and avoid becoming one of the 75 million ‘no time to wash my hands so have diarrhea’ club.

We, hope you found our list of facts useful and amazing. Do you know about any more incredible facts about washing your hands? Do you have any tips for our readers? Please share your opinions and stories with us here.

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