Covid-19 vaccines to be available soon, but don’t forget handwashing

The single best thing you can do to stop the virus is to wash your hands frequently and thoroughly – particularly before you eat, touch your face or any other body parts.

By: Satata Karmakar | | Published: December 5, 2020 3:02 pm

As COVID-19 vaccines come into sight, experts stress on handwashing

Just as vaccine manufacturers announce positive updates that could help bring the Covid-19 pandemic to a culmination, experts continue to stress the need for handwashing to safeguard against the spread of other potential infections and diseases. December 1-7 is National Handwashing Awareness Week. Also Read - Covid-19 vaccine alert: Covishield not advised to those allergic to any of its ingredients

HANDWASHING GUIDELINES THE EXPERTS WANTS YOU TO FOLLOW

Handwashing practices have always been an effective way to prevent infectious diseases, especially new ones like the one caused by a coronavirus. Studies have found that washing one’s hands with soap can prevent 1 in 3 people getting diarrhoea, and 1 in 5 people from respiratory illness — both the diseases are a major reason for child mortality in India. Also Read - Almost 30% of recovered COVID-19 patients develop complications within 5 months, over 12% die

Handwashing before cooking and eating, after using a toilet, and after handling garbage or waste of any kind is a must. You must also try to foster and support a culture of handwashing in society and raise awareness about its benefits. Also Read - COVID-19 vaccine side effects: Loss of sensation in arms and more reported by Pune health workers

Handwashing is equally important in hospital settings where it can reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) to a great extent.

In India, the culture of eating food with hands makes it more important to keep the hands clean. Keeping nails short, trimming them regularly, and washing hands for at least 20-30 seconds, will take the chance of acquiring any infection/diseases less likely and will prevent most microbes.

According to Global Health Observatory (GHO) data, in 2018, 5.3 million children died around the world before seeing their fifth birthday. Washing hands with soap and water have been proven to be one of the most powerful shields for humanity against the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these infections could have been prevented through the simple act of handwashing with soap water as regular hand washing also prevents fomite-born respiratory infections by 16 percent. Through a rigorous handwashing awareness program, our world can save millions of lives of children who are dying of infection because of poor handwashing practices.

SITUATIONS WHERE HANDWASHING IS A MUST

There are a few situations where washing hands are a must to keep infections at bay. Always wash hands after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing; after being in a public place; and before and after caring for a sick person to prevent COVID, suggests Dr. Pratibha Walde, Consultant – Internal Medicine, Columbia Asia Hospital, Pune.

She adds: “These are in addition to existing norms of handwashing after using the toilet or latrine or changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet; after touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste and touching garbage, before, during, and after preparing food, and before eating food. In areas where the quality of water is poor, washing hands with soap and water may need to be followed up by antiseptic hand rubs. Avoid sharing towels after washing hands; use individual towels, paper towels, or hand dryers.”

IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF HANDWASHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

Two most important aspects of handwashing are: rubbing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and drying hands completely with disposable paper towels or hand dryers as the friction is critical to kill the germs. It helps to save us from infectious bacteria and viruses that we may carry in our hands and which can enter our body through the mouth, eyes, or nose.

Washing hands is particularly helpful for people who do not have a fully-developed immunity such as children and those with low immunity such as patients of autoimmune diseases or cancer, elderly people, or pregnant women. Hand washing helps in preventing severe gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. Washing hands must be inculcated as a healthy habit, just like brushing teeth in the morning.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS INFECTION

COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, starts in your respiratory tract. That’s the airway between your mouth, nose, throat, and lungs. It’s the same place that the common cold attacks. But COVID-19 is more likely to get deeper into your respiratory tract, including into your lungs.

When your body spots the virus, your immune system counterattacks. One sign of that is a fever. You might have a cough, too. That’s your body’s usual response to something that’s in the airways that shouldn’t be.

WARNING SYMPTOMS OF THE INFECTION

High fever
A dry cough
Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
Long and short term Fatigue
Extreme body aches
A sore throat that can also give you unbearable pain at times.
Loss of taste and smell

OTHER THAN HANDWASHING, SAFETY MEASURES INCLUDE

The single best thing you can do to stop the virus is to wash your hands frequently and thoroughly – particularly before you eat, touch your face or any other body parts. Carry a hand sanitizer always and protect yourself wearing a good quality mask. Also, make sure to not use the same mask twice. You can use a cotton mask and wash it off immediately after you are back home, or you can also get yourself a few use-and-throw face masks.

The virus is most likely to enter your body from your own contaminated hands when you touch your nose, eyes, and mouth. So, it is extremely important to keep your hands clean. Also, make sure to maintain social distancing. Make sure to eat healthily and include vitamin-C rich fruits and vegetables in your diet. Why? Since this can help you to boost your immunity and help your body stay safe from the novel coronavirus.

(With inputs from IANS)

Published : December 5, 2020 3:02 pm

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