After a disaster, staying clean can be difficult. You may not have clean water or access to proper cleaning supplies, but staying clean helps you and your family stay healthy.
Hands should be washed before preparing and eating food, treating a cut or wound and prior to tending to someone who may be sick. Hands should be washed after going to the bathroom, handling garbage, changing a diaper or helping a child to the restroom and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
As a reminder, here is the proper hand washing technique:
- Wet your hands with clean water and apply soap.
- Lather your hands by rubbing them together. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails.
- Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Try humming the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice to ensure you’ve scrubbed enough.
- Rinse your hands well under clean water.
- Dry your hands using a clean towel or let them air dry.
Hands should be washed with clean water to aid in preventing the spread of germs and illness. If tap water is not safe to use, wash your hands with water that has been made safe through boiling, distillation or using disinfectants.
If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based product to clean your hands. These hand rubs help to significantly reduce the amount of germs on skin and are fast acting. When using a hand sanitizer, apply the product to the palm of one hand and rub hands together until dry.
For more information, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergency/.