Post by Sharp Hygiene
The spread of viruses such as Covid 19 remind us how vital good hygiene is for our safety and well-being. Keeping your hands clean is a simple and yet such an important step to making sure we take care of ourselves and also everyone around us. In this blog, we will cover all crucial points you need to know about hand hygiene.
The most effective way to remove bacteria is to wash both hands with soap and water thoroughly and to continue to wash for at least 20 seconds. While doing so focus on all of the areas listed below.
Washing your hands with soap and water is often not possible, especially when out in public or even at your workplace. Using a hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol can help you avoid becoming ill and spreading germs to others and it is essential for reopening after lock-down. For more information, see out blog ‘How does hand sanitiser kill viruses’.
How to use hand sanitiser? Simply apply the hand sanitising gel to the palm of one hand and rub the product all over the surfaces of your hands (use the areas listed above) until your hands are dry.
When to wash or sanitise your hands? During this period it is especially crucial to hand sanitise after you have been in a public place and touched an item or surface that may be frequently touched by other people, such as door handles, tables, gas pumps, shopping carts, or electronic cashier registers/screens, etc.
Always wash or sanitise your hands after sneezing, coughing, or blowing your nose, to remove any droplets that may have landed on them and also before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth because that is how germs enter our bodies.
When talking about hand hygiene it is vital that we do not forget the nails as fingernails actually harbour the same types of bacteria as the rest of the hand, just a lot more of them. The first thing you can do to prevent the spread of germs is to keep your nails short. Yes, ladies we know that is not what most of you want to hear but it is the best to make sure that the area is free from bacterial.
The second step is to scrub the underside of your nails with soap and water and to use a nail brush as often as you can. Always make sure you clean any grooming tools before using them. It is strongly recommend you avoiding biting or chewing nails and also cutting your cuticles, as they act as barriers to prevent infection.
Is wearing nail polish safe? The good news is that freshly painted nails are perfectly safe however that is not the case 3-4 days after the application. It is recommended to maintain painted nails as often as possible because any tiny chips or cracks in the paint could harbour bacteria.
SharpHygiene have created a highly visible Free Standing and Wall Mounted Hand Hygiene Station which are suitable for indoor and outdoor use. Our Hygiene Stations are developed In-line with government guidelines to make your business Covid Secure and protect your customers, employees and business from potential virus outbreaks. The striking design attracts attention to maximise usage and incorporates user information to comply with section 5.3 of UK government’s Hygiene: handwashing, sanitation facilities and toilets guidelines. Both stations are anti-tamper protected and require a key to open the dispenser.
Find out more about SharpHygiene products.
How does hand sanitiser kill viruses on your hands?
25th May 2020
We found that many visitors were not sanitising their hands as they could not see the sanitisers we had in place. AQF installed the SharpHygiene stations and we have seen a 60% increase in our usage rates
Seamus Fagan | MD | AQF Medical
