There's a simple way we can all help improve health in the hospital or the world around us... clean your hands!
Of course, there are some things to keep in mind to keep your hands as clean as possible, especially in a hospital.
So we turned to our infection prevention and control group, whose people came up with these ten great tips...
1) Clean ‘em to stay healthy: hand washing is the single best way to protect yourself against flu and bacteria.
2) Clean ‘em all over: not just your palms and your fingers, but on top of your hands, between your fingers, and up your wrists.
3) Clean ‘em longer: sing “Happy Birthday” at least twice.
4) Clean ‘em often: especially in a hospital, be sure to clean your hands when entering the building, before you see a patient, after seeing a patient, before eating, after using the washroom, and before leaving the building.
5) Clean ‘em with soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty: soap and water work best for physically removing dirt and germs from your hands and rinsing them down the drain.
6) Clean ‘em and dry ‘em well: germs can be transferred more easily from wet hands. Drying your hands with a paper towel or air dryer after washing is most effective at keeping bacteria counts low.
7) Clean ‘em with alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water is not available: use at least a “twoonie sized” amount of hand sanitizer and rub ‘em all over until they are dry.
8) Clean ‘em before and after preparing food to protect yourself and others from food-borne illnesses.
9) Clean ‘em to influence others to do the same.
10) Clean ‘em because your parents told you to and it’s the right thing to do.