The coronavirus pandemic has impacted every aspect of life in the UK, which is currently beginning to ease its way out of the lockdown which was imposed at the end of March.
While staying home and social distancing are all being implemented in a bid to stop the spread of the virus, one of the simplest ways you can prevent infection is to wash your hands regularly – and new advice has been issued on how often to do so this week.
So just how often should you be washing your hands – and how much does it help prevent the spread of Covid-19?
Here’s what you need to know…
How many times a day should you be washing your hands?
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According to new research from the University College London, you should be looking at washing your hands around six-10 times a day – with the findings suggesting that washing on such a regular basis will help lower your chances of contracting coronavirus.
Sarah Beale from UCL’s Institute of Health Informatics, and the first author on the study, has said: ‘Given that Covid-19 appears to demonstrate similar transmission mechanisms to seasonal coronaviruses, these findings support clear public health messaging around the protective effects of handwashing during the pandemic.
‘It’s important to highlight that frequency of handwashing is only one aspect of hand hygiene.
‘We also know that both longer duration of handwashing and the context of handwashing e.g. upon returning home or before eating – have been associated with lower overall risk of influenza or influenza-like-illness.
‘Good hand hygiene should be practised at all times regardless of whether you show symptoms or not.
‘This will help protect yourself and prevent unwittingly spreading the virus to others around you.’
The findings have suggested that washing hands this often was associated with a 36% reduction in the risk of contracting Covid-19, compared to those who washed their hands zero-five times a day.
How often does the NHS recommend washing hands?
The NHS recommends on its website that this is when you should wash your hands:
- After using the toilet or changing a nappy
- Before and after handling raw foods like meat and vegetables
- Before eating or handling food
- After blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing
- Before and after treating a cut or wound
- After touching animals, including pets, their food and after cleaning their cages
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s also been recommended that people should wash their hands when arriving at work (if you are currently going out to work), after arriving home, before eating or handling food and after you sneeze or cough.
Washing your hands after taking in deliveries or post, or takeaways has also been recommended by some.
To make sure you are cleaning your hands thoroughly and properly as advised, the NHS advise that you should wash your hands for around 20 seconds – which is roughly the same amount of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice.
When washing your hands with soap and warm water, do not forget to wash in-between your fingers and the backs of your hands.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/05/21/how-many-times-day-should-washing-hands-12738451/
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