As you go about your daily life, opening doors, shaking hands with others, answering the phone and using your computer, your hands can pick up tons of germs that can transmit viruses and bacteria. When you touch your eyes, nose or mouth, these germs can enter your body and could potentially make you sick.
What can you do to keep these germs at bay? The obvious answer is to wash your hands, and wash them frequently. You should always wash your hands before preparing food, eating or touching a sick person, as well as after going to the bathroom, coughing or sneezing, handling any kind of raw meat or waste, or coming in contact with a sick person.
To properly cleanse your hands of dirt and harmful germs, lather them up with soap and rub them together vigorously for at least 20 seconds. Make sure to scrub every nook and cranny, including your wrists and underneath your fingernails. If you’re using a sanitizer, apply enough to wet your palm completely and rub your hands together for at least 25 seconds.
Frequent hand-washing, while beneficial to stop the spread of germs, can end up leaving your hands dry and cracked. For this reason, many people use moisturizing soap or sanitizer, which cleans hands while restoring moisture. You can also moisturize after washing, with deeply hydrating products made from coconut oil, olive oil, aloe vera and more.