Parents, haath dhulao, bimari bhagao!!

Parents, do you know when children play in open areas, they touch things that may be contaminated by a MICROBE!!! For example, they could end up touching feces (poop) from animals or people ACCIDENTALLY andmay result with an infection simply because aSINGLE gram of human poop may contain 1 TRILLION germs. And did you know that you could possibly avoid an infection or MANY visits to the doctor if the kids were trained to wash their hands more regularly. In fact, hand-washing is fool-proof way of keeping your kids away from common infections such as common cold.Dirty hands take the microbe to everywhere they touch including YOU. This is called cross-contamination and it is a very common way of spreading germs, jumping from the inanimate object (for example, if someone sneezed on it) or poop they touched to their skin to their face-nose, lips, eyes(by frequent touching). Some micro-organisms can survive for several minutes on your kid’s or your skin and may spread to another object or person by touching.

Some of these common microbes are listed below in a table to give you an idea which diseases can be prevented by hand-washing:

Common diseases/conditions	Name of micro-organism	Source of contamination
Diarrhoea	Salmonella	Animal or human feces
	Escherichia  coli
	Norovirus
Hand-foot-mouth disease.	Enterovirus (Cox-sackie virus)
Respiratory infection	Adenovirus
Common cold	Rhinoviruses	Sneeze or secretions of infected person
bronchiolitis	Respiratory syncital virus, flu virus, some common cold viruses
meningitis	Neisseria meningitides, Streptococcus	Secretions of infected person
flu	Influenza virus	Even by touching an infected person
Hepatitis A	Hepatitis A virus	Feces of an infected person

Now that we know how many infections proceed in absence of proper hand wash, let us define when your kids need hand wash the most:

• When hands are visibly soiled.
• After using the washroom.
• After blowing their nose or after sneezing in the hands.
• Before and after eating or drinking.
• After handling garbage or contact with contaminated surfaces such as garbage bins, cleaning cloths.
• After visiting sick people.
• Before taking any medications.
• After contact with blood or body fluids such as vomit or saliva.
• Before and after touching a cut or wound.
• After handling pets, animals or animal waste.
• After handling pet food or pet treats.
• After being outside (playing, gardening, walking the dog, etc.)

Once you have identified the possible ways of contaminations, don’t forget to cultivate the proper and regular hand wash method. Make it fun for them so that they enjoy this little habit and have a healthy childhood.

Proper hand wash requires:

1.      Adequate amount of soap – rinsing hands in water only is not as effective as soap lathering. Water temperature is not an important factor for effective cleaning. Washing should be at least for a minimum of 15 seconds or longer (if hands are visibly soiled). Parents may sing a short song to keep children entertained for the required time.

2.      Rubbing hands to have adequate friction- scrubbing the hands, between fingers, back of hands, wrists and forearms. Under the nails when possible.

3.      Rinse with clean running water to get the best results.

Once you have cultivated this habit, you can control:

• 1.      Spread of microorganisms from your child’s hand to other parts of the body as they subconsciously touch other body parts especially face without realizing.
• 2.      Spread of microbes from your child’s hand to food when eating. Some micro-organisms can grow in certain foods if left alone and make people sick.
• 3.      Dirty hands may transfer germs to the objects they touch such as handrails, table tops, toys etc.
• 4.      The overuse of antibiotics and thus curb emerging problem of antibiotic resistance.
• So, Parent, don't underestimate the power of hand washing! The time you spend at the sink could save you trips to the doctor's office.

About the Organization:

Heeals, an organization dedicated towards spreading awareness about the goodness associated with regular hand wash to kids has been organizing events as well as workshops for the last many years. Some of these workshops such as “WASH workshop in schools of villages in western Uttar Pradesh”, “Schools in Gurgaon urban area” and through “Origami: the art of paper folding as a fun activity to implement hand wash”. Through their endeavors, Heeals volunteers teach kids not only the importance of hand wash but also how to make hand wash a part of their life.

• For the Socially relevant cause, Heeals is constantly looking for volunteers as well as donations to continue their excellent endeavors. For donations, access here.

About the blog author:Dr. Gurjot Kaur is currently working as Associate Professor at Shoolini University, Solan. Being a toxicologist by profession and a conservationist by choice, she constantly participates in writing about important health and environmental issues especially in high risk populations such as children. Commending Heeals work, she has associated with Heeals initiative as a blogger.