COHEN: Five easy steps to stay healthy this season

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Getting an annual flu vaccination is the single best thing you can do to protect yourself from the flu virus. However, we all know that there are lots of other germs out there besides the flu. From the common cold to MRSA to food-borne bugs, our world is literally crawling with microorganisms. Unfortunately, many of these bugs are just itching to hop a ride on your hands and from there to be placed, by you, directly into your eyes, ears, nose or mouth.

One of the reasons why people forget about hand washing is because it is not as easy as getting a shot. Vaccination is done once and then you can forget about it, and it’s effective. Hand hygiene is at least as important, if not more so, but you must do it over and over again and learn to incorporate it as a routine practice into your daily life. But, when you consider how long you might be unable to do your routine work if you get sick, hand washing is really a pretty effective and easy disease prevention habit!

Cleaning your hands with water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is still the best way to prevent diseases that are transmitted by hand to mouth or hand to nose/eye contact. Soap acts as a vehicle to trap the germs that are loosened by the act of rubbing your hands together under water. These germs can then be rinsed away by the water. The big question on lots of people’s minds, however, is what kind of soap to use?

The Center for Disease Control conducted a study of more than 200 households, some of which used soap containing 0.2 percent triclosan (an antibacterial) and others used ordinary soap. When compared to plain soap, the antibacterial soap appeared to provide no benefits in reducing rates of colds in generally healthy people. Their conclusion was that the kind of soap you use doesn’t matter. Any liquid or bar soap works just fine in protecting you against colds and infections, as long as you wash your hands properly.

In fact, some studies have found that frequent use of antibacterial soap may actually be harmful. Evidence suggests that residue-producing antibacterial soap may kill normal healthy bacteria on the skin as well as unhealthy bacteria, allowing antibiotic-resistant bacteria to take its place.

While antibacterial soaps may not be necessary for the mainstream public, alcohol-based hand sanitizers do play an important role when it comes to reducing the spread of infections. They kill germs without killing healthy bacteria, and are a convenient way to disinfect when soap and water are not available. When you buy this product, look for an alcohol-based sanitizer with an alcohol content of 60-95 percent. If you use a sanitizer, apply the product to one palm, rub your two hands together (making sure to reach all surfaces), and continue rubbing until your hands are dry.

If you’re using water to wash your hands, there is no one best water temperature to use. If your hands are really dirty and greasy, use warm to hot water to do a better job of trapping dirt and grease within the soap. Also, the type of soap does not typically matter, as long as it lathers and spreads over the hands sufficiently to trap the germs. The CDC recommends the following procedure for good hand washing:

• Wet your hands with clean water (warm, if available) and apply soap.

• Lather by rubbing hands together; be sure to cover all surfaces.

• Continue rubbing hands together for 15-20 seconds (sing “happy birthday” twice in your head)

• Thoroughly rinse hands under running water to ensure removal of residual germs.

• Use paper towels or an air dryer to dry hands and then, if possible, use a paper towel to turn off the faucet and open the bathroom door.

Finally, here are 10 events in which hand washing is especially important:

• Before and after preparing or handling food;

• Before eating;

• After changing diapers;

• After using the bathroom;

• After sneezing, coughing or blowing your nose;

• Before and after inserting contact lenses;

• After touching an animal or animal waste;

• After handling garbage;

• Before and after treating wounds;

• Before and after touching a sick or injured person or any product used by them that might be contaminated.

• Rebecca Cohen is a board-certified holistic nurse and a certified wellness coach. She has a private practice, Partnering for Change Wellness Coaching, to help people gain success in making changes in their life and health. Her Web site is www.partnering forchange.com.