Amal Al-Sibai

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — Look at your hands. Are they clean? Except for the blue and red marker lines left over after coloring, they look clean. There is no mud or dirt or food on your fingers, so yes, your hands are clean.



Now, look again but this time, pretend that you are looking through a microscope. Now, what do you see?



You see spiral-and-bar-shaped germs in pink, red, yellow, and green color. Not such a clean and pretty picture after all.



The truth is there are hundreds of different bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi that can get on your hands and make you sick. From your hands these germs can easily get into your body whenever you touch your eyes, nose, mouth, or the food you eat. These nasty germs cause illnesses like cold, flu, sore throat, and more serious problems like diarrhea, chicken pox, meningitis, bronchitis, pink eye, and hepatitis A, which is a disease of the liver.



And when you are sick the infection can spread again from you to your friend, brother, mother, or the whole family.



Illnesses caused by infections from germs are contagious, which means they can spread from one person to another.  



How did these germs land on your hands?



Germs can get onto your hands from using the toilet, throwing out the garbage, or changing your baby sister’s dirty diapers.



You can end up with germs through all the fun stuff that kids love doing like collecting rocks on the sea shore, digging into the sand at the park, making mud-pies, touching your pet, playing with your best friend’s toys when he has a cold.  



The good news is that the best way to defend your body and beat those germs is very easy — just wash your hands.



Washing your hands will destroys 95 percent of those germs on your hands. You may be in a rush when you come home from school to eat your lunch right away, but 20 seconds of hand washing before you eat can save you from getting sick with a bad cold.



These are the rules for washing hands. Write them down on a poster and hang them up in your school and home, but most importantly remember to follow them.

 

Always wash your hands

• Before eating or cooking, and again after eating or cooking


• After using the bathroom


• After cleaning around the house or taking out the garbage


• After sneezing, coughing, and blowing your nose


• After touching animals, including your beloved pets. (Did you know that dog and cat saliva contains up to 100 different germs? And reptiles can carry salmonella that can make you really sick.)


• Before and after visiting or taking care of any sick friends or relatives


• After being outside, for example when coming home from school, the park, playing outside, taking a walk, or going to the mall.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Just splashing water onto your hands and running off to watch your favorite TV show is not enough to kill the germs. For real protection, wash your hands the right way



1.   Wet your hands under clean, running tap water.



2.   Use liquid or bar soap (liquid is better) and rub your hands together. Scrub between your fingers and under fingernails. Keep scrubbing for 20 seconds.



3.   Rinse your hands well with water.



4.   Dry your hands using a clean towel, paper towel, or air dryer.



5.   Use the paper towel to turn off the tap instead of touching it directly with your hands.



Once you master the skill of hand washing, those evil germs don’t stand a chance.