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Global Hand Hygiene Day: Your soap can be an ally in the fight against infectious diseases

Global Hand Hygiene Day: Your soap can be an ally in the fight against infectious diseases
Your humble bar of soap can be your ally against many infectious diseases including COVID-19. @Shutterstock

On this Global Hand Hygiene Day, you need to make a pledge to always keep your hands clean and your humble bar of soap can be your ally here.

Written by Jahnavi Sarma |Updated : May 6, 2021 6:44 PM IST

The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing unabated and has claimed many victims across many countries and regions. The world is slowly waking up to the fact that we may have to live with this deadly contagion for quite some time. There is, as yet, no cure or vaccine for this variant of coronavirus. Hence, it is necessary to follow all the precautions and safety guidelines diligently. Washing your hands frequently is the most important precautionary method here because you can never be too sure of what your hands may have touched. On this Global Hand Hygiene Day, you need to make a pledge to always be aware of this fact and keep your hands clean. Your humble bar of soap can be your ally against many infectious diseases including COVID-19.

Global Hand Hygiene Day, which is observed every year of May 5, aims to raise awareness about the importance of keeping your hands clean. In keeping with the current pandemic, the theme this year is 'Save Lives: Clean Your Hands'. This year, the campaign centers around making hand hygiene a global priority, inspiring hand hygiene and behavior change and engaging with health care workers in their role in clean care and the prevention of infections.

Importance of soap in keeping your hands clean

According to the World Health Organisation, the most effective way to prevent infection is to wash your hands with soap and water. This is, in fact, the first preventive measure in the face of most epidemics and pandemics. Of course, hand sanitisers can help too. But this must be reserved only for emergencies. Nothing can beat washing hands with soap and water according to the premier organisation. So, instead of reaching for the bottle of sanitizer, you must instead head for the wash basin.

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Why use soap?

The proteins and fatty acids on your skin's surface help germs to stick to them. Washing your hands with only water will not effectively help you to get rid of these pathogens. But when you use soap, it has an adverse effect on the outer membrane of most viruses, and it is no longer able to stick to your skin. It also washes the virus away from your hands. It also helps in the prevention of many bacterial infections.

The right way to wash hands with soap and water

Most people make simple mistakes when washing their hands with soap and water. On this Global Hand Hygiene Day, let us take a look at what these common mistakes are. We live in a world that is always short of time. This holds true even when you are washing your hands. Many people just wet their hands, rub soap on them and wash it off quickly. They miss many obvious places on the hands where germs may lurk. So, you need to be mindful while washing your hands.

To wash your hands the right way, hold your hands under running water. Apply soap and rub your hands together to work up a lather. Do this for 20 seconds. Be careful to wash the back of your hands, between the fingers and under your nails. Wash off with water and use a paper towel to dry your hands. Dispose of this immediately after. Follow this protocol always to keep your hands clean.