Etiquette for Health
By Diane K. Tolliver
It is not just for the flu season. Hygiene etiquette is mandatory multiple times throughout every day, and 365 days of the year.
Cleanliness etiquette involves actions that thwart the spread of illness and disease. A critical time to practice good hygiene etiquette is when you are sick, especially when coughing or sneezing. Serious respiratory illnesses like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are spread by:
To help stop the spread of germs:
Remember to wash your hands after coughing or sneezing:
Do I really need to wash my hands after using the restroom?
YES! Post-toilet habits should always include handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds- enough time to sing “Happy Birthday to You” twice – before reaching for a towel. This should matter to you for at least two reasons. You want to rid yourself of all the germs that you may have contacted from the contaminated washroom doors, and other surfaces those before you have touched or had secondary contact with (please do not ask me describe what this means, here). Second, you are doing your civil part to not redistribute any of your germs to the human being who uses the facility after you.
Practicing good hygiene etiquette is important even when no one is watching.
If you need the thought of peer pressure to guilt you into washing your hands thoroughly after using the restroom, imagine that the Centers for Disease Control has installed a hidden camera with a timer aimed at every sink near every toilet you use in one week. The amount of time or the omissions of handwashing after each use of the restroom (even your home lavatory) will be posted to your Facebook page for all your friends and family to view. Ugh.
Remember to always practice “prevention handwashing” to avoid contacting various illnesses and infections for yourself and for others.
Resource: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and PersonalityTudor.com.
It is not just for the flu season. Hygiene etiquette is mandatory multiple times throughout every day, and 365 days of the year.
Cleanliness etiquette involves actions that thwart the spread of illness and disease. A critical time to practice good hygiene etiquette is when you are sick, especially when coughing or sneezing. Serious respiratory illnesses like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are spread by:
- Coughing or sneezing
- Unclean hands
- Touching your face after touching contaminated objects
- Touching objects after contaminating your hands
To help stop the spread of germs:
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
- Put your used tissue in a wastebasket.
- If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands.
Remember to wash your hands after coughing or sneezing:
- Wash with soap and water.
- Keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water. If clean, running water is not accessible, as is common in many parts of the world, use soap and available water. If soap and water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol to clean hands.
Do I really need to wash my hands after using the restroom?
YES! Post-toilet habits should always include handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds- enough time to sing “Happy Birthday to You” twice – before reaching for a towel. This should matter to you for at least two reasons. You want to rid yourself of all the germs that you may have contacted from the contaminated washroom doors, and other surfaces those before you have touched or had secondary contact with (please do not ask me describe what this means, here). Second, you are doing your civil part to not redistribute any of your germs to the human being who uses the facility after you.
Practicing good hygiene etiquette is important even when no one is watching.
If you need the thought of peer pressure to guilt you into washing your hands thoroughly after using the restroom, imagine that the Centers for Disease Control has installed a hidden camera with a timer aimed at every sink near every toilet you use in one week. The amount of time or the omissions of handwashing after each use of the restroom (even your home lavatory) will be posted to your Facebook page for all your friends and family to view. Ugh.
Remember to always practice “prevention handwashing” to avoid contacting various illnesses and infections for yourself and for others.
Resource: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and PersonalityTudor.com.