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SearchToday is Global Handwashing Day. An urgent care physician highlights the importance of regularly washing your hands, especially during cold and flu season.
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CLEVELAND - Today is Global Handwashing Day, which is held every year to help raise awareness about the importance of washing our hands.
According to the CDC, regularly washing your hands can help reduce the spread of germs, including respiratory illnesses, by up to 21%.
“It’s very important, especially when you're coughing or sneezing, or you feel that you have any kind of sick symptoms. This is why we had such a huge campaign for hand washing when COVID-19 came out. But it's not only COVID-19, it's RSV and it's also other communicable diseases,” said Allan Capin, MD, urgent care physician at Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Capin said most people touch their face dozens of times a day.
And every time we do, we risk spreading germs.
He adds that most people are not washing their hands enough, either.
We should wash our hands every time we cough, sneeze, use the bathroom, before and after handling food, taking out the trash, and being out in public.
Think about the grocery store, for example.
You’re touching a lot of shared surfaces there, including shopping carts.
So, how long should we be washing our hands for?
Dr. Capin recommends at least 20 seconds.
You can use a bar of soap or liquid soap.
“The temperature does not matter either. It can be cold or warm. But the whole point here is that you have to wash them and scrub for at least 20 seconds. Then afterwards, you can rinse your hands and dry them with a clean towel. That's a proper way of doing it,” he said.
Dr. Capin also reminds people to wash under their fingernails because germs can hide there.
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. Cleveland Clinic is consistently recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 81,000 employees worldwide are more than 5,743 salaried physicians and researchers, and 20,160 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,690-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 23 hospitals, 276 outpatient facilities, including locations in northeast Ohio; Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2023, there were 13.7 million outpatient encounters, 323,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 301,000 surgeries and procedures throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 132 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/CleClinicNews. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.
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