The Right Way to Wash Your Hands

Maggie Grainger
March 13, 2020
2 Minutes

“Did you wash your hands?”

“Don’t forget to wash your hands!”

“Employees must wash hands before returning to work.”

“GO WASH YOUR HANDS!”

You’ve been told your entire life to wash your hands…after going to the restroom or coughing or before preparing food or holding a baby.

With growing concern around the spread of Coronavirus, it’s more important than ever to make sure you diligently wash your hands and wash them CORRECTLY (only 5% of people actually do).

Here’s a quick lesson in lathering up!

1. Wet your hands.

2. Soap and sud up. Create a lather. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds.

The CDC recommends singing the “Happy Birthday” song two times to gauge how long you’ve been washing Below are essential hand washing movements recommended by the World Health Organization:

6 ESSENTIAL HAND-WASHING MOVEMENTS
Rub palm to palm
Interlacing fingers back to palm
Rub palm to palm with your fingers interlaced
Choir grasp aka rubbing the backs of fingers on the opposing palms
Make sure to rub around both thumbs
Itchy palm move aka rubbing opposite palms with your fingers

3. Rinse thoroughly.

Air dry or use a clean towel to dry your hands.

Liked what you read? Learn more by downloading the Carbon Health app or visiting carbonhealth.com.

Carbon Health

Making good healthcare accessible, to all.


Maggie Grainger

Maggie Grainger is the Brand Copywriter at Carbon Health. She enjoys writing about diverse healthcare issues and helping people live their healthiest lives.

MediumFacebook