How to properly wash your hands

We’re taught to wash our hands at a young age. It’s so important because not washing our hands is a way to pass germs to others or contract something we don’t necessarily want. This is why we teach young children to do so.

Using good hand hygiene and washing your hands can help prevent the common cold. There are so many strains and so many varied colds that people pick up, but most commonly, they do that from someone coughing or sneezing in their face or coughing and sneezing in their hand and then shaking their hand. We try to tell people to sneeze into your elbow or not into your hand. If you used a tissue to blow your nose, germs would have gotten onto your hands, so that’s a good time to think about washing them.

The most critical time to wash your hands is when leaving the bathroom. Before preparing food for yourself or others would be another crucial time to consider washing your hands. There are certain things that we can pick up from food preparation. When we’re preparing foods, certain bacteria sometimes don’t come off until we’ve cooked the food. So again, when you’re touching and handling that food, it is important to wash your hands and wash surfaces when you’re done so that you don’t pick up an infection.

Some people ask, “Is rinsing your hands with water going to kill any germs?” or “Why is it important to use soap?” These are great questions. The soap is going to help with killing the bacteria. Water, if it’s warm, can make a difference, but the soap is essential, and it’s also important to consider the length of time. One of the things I tell people, something even my 3-year-old can do, is singing the ABCs once through. There are other songs people have come up with, but saying the ABCs to yourself when you’re washing your hands — and washing thoroughly — will ensure that you’ve spent a sufficient amount of time, which is about 20 seconds.

Some people want to discuss the importance of the actual lather. When washing your hands and using soap, it is important to get your hands wet, put on the soap and produce a lather. Use that lather during your ABCs to scrub between your fingers, on the front and back sides of your hands, and then rinse again.

With hand sanitizers that people use, you want to make sure it is alcohol-based and at least 60%-70% alcohol. Certain bacteria respond when you wash with soap and water, but are not as responsive to hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer is not a replacement for soap and water, but something is better than nothing in a pinch.

Washing your hands may seem like a simple thing, but not everybody remembers to do it. Sometimes, people just forget. Being intentional and thorough can help protect you and your family against illnesses as easily as A, B, C.

— Summer Allen, M.D., Family Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

Mayo Clinic Q & A is an educational resource and doesn’t replace regular medical care. This Mayo Clinic Q&A represents inquiries this healthcare expert has received from patients.