Do you often have to seriously think about why adults and children get sick? And why do babies have to deal with various viral and infectious diseases more often than their parents? The first thing that comes to mind is that all our sores are the result of weak immunity, stress, lack of vitamins and lack of sleep. It is quite possible for each of us to solve some factors from this list, while it is simply impossible to overcome others.
During the undoubtedly important and necessary war for our and children's health, we forget about the obvious - personal hygiene. Most likely, the question of how to wash their hands properly does not even come up in most families, moreover, it is good if it is generally accepted in the house to do this procedure in all necessary cases. In today's article, you can learn about how and what you need to wash your hands, and also why it is so important to teach this to children.
Obvious problem
Returning to the question posed in the very first sentence of this publication, it is worth noting that dirty hands are a direct threat to the health of a person and his immediate environment. Every day, hourly and even every minute we have to deal with microbes and bacteria that actively multiply on the skin. You will have to reap the fruits of this yourself dirty, especially if he does not know how to wash his hands, or ignores this simple and important procedure.
Laziness and forgetfulness can manifest themselves in such "small" troubles as uncontrolled vomiting, debilitating diarrhea, gastrointestinal upset, a cold, with a whole bunch of symptoms in the form of snot, sore throat and temperature. Of course, the human body is not so weak that it gets sick after every hot dog or candy eaten on the street, but no one knows for sure when this will happen to us.
You should never forget that if you hold onto a handrail in transport or pay cash in a store, you can become an unlucky owner of tuberculosis, dysentery, cholera, rotavirus, flu and other diseases. Or you may turn out to be not the owner, but just a carrier, and then, having treated your or your neighbor's baby with a delicious cookie from dirty hands, along with a treat you will feed the little one a fair portion of microbes.
Your child at risk
Children, and especially small ones, on a psychological level need to feel around themselves everything that catches their eye, in some cases they even need to try it to their taste. It’s absolutely not important for the kid what he takes in his mouth - his own little scoop, which he played in the street sandbox or a stone brought by a neighbor’s dog, moreover, in the first and second years of life, children tend to put a pinch of earth in their mouths, a stick, a poop thrown out an unsmoked cigarette or a piece of candy in the grass.
Even if all this “good” didn’t get into your mouth right away, but was taken out by a caring mother, particles of dirt remain on your hands. Subsequently, the baby with these hands will rub his eye or lick his fingers. To avoid this is simple - you need to instill in your child from an early age the idea that hygiene is an integral part of his life, accordingly, he needs to show how to wash his hands correctly, teach him to do this systematically and regularly.
Set the right example!
No words and moralizing will be indicative for a child if they are not supported by the actions of adults. Parents and grandparents need to monitor their behavior and try to minimize mistakes, the only way they will become worthy role models for offspring.
Of course, the child will be shown how to wash their hands, in kindergarten, school or in an extended day group. This is the direct responsibility of the teacher. By the way, teachers are specially taught the hygiene rules, and so that they do not forget the correct algorithm of actions, a demonstration poster is always placed in the bathroom, dining room and toilet. The illustrations in the pictures show how to wash your hands, because in fact, it’s not enough to rinse your fingers and palms under running water.
How it's done?
Thorough hand washing suggests that the procedure should last at least 30-60 seconds. During this time, you need to moisten the brushes with water, you should not use too hot a liquid, it damages the skin, and it becomes porous, dries and crackes. Microdamage on the epithelium is a good place for the propagation of harmful microorganisms.
When the hands are wet, they must be thoroughly soaped, without ignoring the entire circumference of the fingers, nails, palms from the inside, outside and back.
It is believed that in case of severe contamination of the hands, they need to be washed twice, since during the first wash, the surface of the skin is only partially cleaned. Soap solution is important to rinse thoroughly with clean running water. In order to avoid re-contamination while the tap valve is being screwed in, it can be washed with soapy fingers and rinsed at home, and if the hygiene procedure takes place in a public place, it is better to tighten the tap with the back of your hand, it does not come into contact with food, drink or face.
In theory, everything sounds very long and boring, so it’s more useful for the baby to demonstrate the rules visually. Pictures “How to wash your hands” for children should be colorful and vibrant, then they will be associated not with conscription, but with the game.
We create conditions
What will not be difficult for an adult self-sufficient person for a child can become a real problem and cause unwillingness to wash hands. What is the catch? First of all, you need to make sure that the baby can easily get to the washbasin. Secondly, he should not have difficulty opening and closing the mixer. It is important to worry about a comfortable water temperature for washing.
When the algorithm “Correctly wash my hands” is learned theoretically, you need to fix it in practice. Starting a hygienic procedure, you need to choose the right soap. Washing your hands with anything, especially a child, is unacceptable. The ideal option is a mild liquid soap, best for children. You can use a simple, squared one, but you must not allow it to "float" in a wet soap dish, such an environment promotes the growth of bacteria, and our goal is to get rid of them.
Doctors strongly do not recommend the use of antibacterial soap, it too aggressively affects the skin, moreover, it kills not only bad "settlers" on the body, but also good ones, which should be a priori there. In some countries, these types of detergents are even banned from sale.
Antibacterials - harm or benefit?
In any current issue there are always some controversial issues. The problem of how to wash their hands with children is especially acute at the moment when normal conditions are not created for this. You must admit that washing your dirty hands with soap and rinsing them under running water is as easy as going home, another thing is when the child gets dirty in the park, on the playground, on the road.
Carrying a bottle of water, soap and a towel is difficult and inconvenient, besides, it is not a fact that the supplies will not run out at the right time. For such difficult situations, there are special wet wipes, there are also liquid antiseptics. They can be in the form of a solution, which is poured from the vessel onto the palms of your hands and rubbed over the surface of the brush, and can be in the form of a spray, which also needs to be sprayed on the hands. These products are alcohol-containing, it is better to use them only in extreme cases when it is impossible to wash away the dirt in the traditional way.