A: Keeping your hands clean is one of the best ways to avoid illness. Cleaning your hands well gets rid of any germs you pick up from other people, from surfaces you touch, even from your pets and other animals you come into contact with.
 

A: You should wash your hands before eating; before, during and after handling or preparing food; after contact with blood or body fluids (such as vomit, nasal secretions or saliva); after changing a diaper; after you use the bathroom; after handling animals, their toys, leashes or waste; after touching something that could be contaminated (such as a trash can, cleaning cloth, drain or soil); before dressing a wound, giving medicine or inserting contact lenses.
 

A: It is not impolite and caregivers should check that everyone on the staff has complied with hand-washing rules. There is usually a hand sanitizer dispenser inside and outside of each hospital room. Everyone dealing with a patient should be using these—or washing hands—before and after patient contact. This is a basic rule in hospitals. And this practice should be routine in doctor’s and dentist’s offices as well.

Article provided by Caring Today magazine and www.caringtoday.com

A: You should definitely disinfect those areas where there can be large numbers of dangerous germs and where there is a possibility that these germs could be spread to others. Be especially vigilant in the kitchen and bathroom.

In the kitchen:

• Clean and disinfect counters and other surfaces before, during and after preparing food (especially meat and poultry).
• Follow all directions on the product label, which usually specifies letting the disinfectant stand for a few minutes.
• When cleaning surfaces, don’t let germs hang around on clean clothes or towels. Use paper towels that can be thrown away, cloth towels that are later washed in hot water, or disposable sanitizing wipes that both clean and disinfect.

In the bathroom:

• Routinely clean and disinfect all surfaces. This is especially important if someone in the house has a stomach illness, a cold or the flu.

A: Remember this: Cleaning removes germs from surfaces but disinfecting actually destroys them. Cleaning with soap and water to remove dirt and most of the germs is usually enough. But sometimes you may want to disinfect for an extra level of protection from germs Even when surfaces look clean, many infectious germs may be lurking around. In some instances, germs can live on surfaces for hours, even days.

Disinfectants are specifically registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and contain ingredients that actually destroy bacteria and other germs. Check the product label to make sure it says “disinfectant” and has an EPA registration number.
 

A: The preferred method recommended by the Centers for Disease Control is as follows:

• Wet your hands and apply liquid, bar or powder soap.
• Rub your hands together vigorously to make a lather and then scrub all surfaces.
• Continue washing for 20 seconds. (It takes that long for the soap and scrubbing action to dislodge and remove stubborn germs.)
• Rinse hands well under running water.
• Dry hands using a paper towel or air dryer.
• If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.

If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based wipe or hand gel.