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
|
|
|
|
|
Enterovirus
(Cox-sackie virus)
|
|
Respiratory
infection
|
Adenovirus
|
|
Common
cold
|
Rhinoviruses
|
Sneeze
or secretions of infected person
|
|
|
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:
-
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.
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