I Think I Was Barely Washing My Hands

OK! I might get dragged for this but here it goes; I can honestly say, according to CDC guidelines, I think I was barely washing my hands. This global pandemic has given me an education I didn't even know I needed.

I washed my hands faithfully in 3 circumstances.

1. After using the restroom

2. Before cooking food

3. When my hands were obviously dirty

That's it. That was my complete protocol.

Throughout life I often observed people washing their hands before they ate. Yes, I picked this one up in a communal sense but I must say I never really adopted that as a consistent personal habit. In social settings, if everyone was making a trip to the rest room to wash their hands, I too would wash my hands before the meal but I didn’t do this religiously (Insert your drag here).

Since the pandemic, I've also learned that I have friends who routinely wash their hands every time they come in the house!! Like WHAT? That's a thing? Did y'all do that too?

And then there's all these diagrams of HOW to wash your hands. Wash from every angle. I even saw one that said to wash your wrists!? For 20 seconds none the less. Ok, listen, I've been a huge failure to society in this regard. I’m absolutely certain I have never stood at the sink and washed my wrists. Ever. I’m 100% sure I have not.

Here we are all suffering from the impact of Covid-19 and I feel strongly that there may be others who had lack luster hand washing habits that may have contributed to our current condition.

According to the CDC, here’s WHEN to wash your hands…

• Before, during, and after preparing food

• Before eating food

• Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick with vomiting or diarrhea

• Before and after treating a cut or wound

• After using the toilet

• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet

• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing

• After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste

• After handling pet food or pet treats

• After touching garbage

And here’s HOW to wash your hands…

• Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.

• Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.

• Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.

• Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.

• Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Come on. Be honest. Chime in. Who's with me on this? Did you already do these things? To this degree?

In the advice of Maya Angelo, now that we know better, we will do better.

Let’s all do better!

Click here for the complete CDC guidelines on both WHEN and HOW to wash your hands.