Description

Washing your hands removes dirt, debris, and microbes, but is there a right way to do it? If you wash your hands too often, can it actually be bad for you? Dr. Schultz addresses all of these questions and more.

Transcript

Hello. I’m Dr. Neal Schultz and welcome to DermTV. Today, I’m standing here next to the sink in my office and I’m going to talk to you about how to properly wash your hands. That may seem kind of simple but we’re hearing more and more in the press about the importance of more frequent and regular hand washing and there are good reasons for that. It’s been demonstrated by medical studies that more frequent and regular hand washing helps to decrease the decrease the spread of certain import and infections like influenza, common colds, and we even learned with the epidemics of gastrointestinal viruses on the crew ships that more frequent hand washing help to decrease the spread of that virus. During the past year with H1N1 flu and the “pandemic” and hysteria about an epidemic has become ever so much more important and forth through a new level of public awareness as part of normal and appropriate hygiene. The problem is that if you’re washing too frequently or not washing properly, you may actually get a rash on your hands or an irritation. So I am somebody who has to wash his hands 20 or 30 times a day because before and after every patient, I have to wash my hands. So let me give you some simple guidelines about how washing your hands even if it’s frequent washing will not cause irritation. First of all, you have to choose the proper temperature of water. And to do that, the water should be warm but not hot and not cold. Second of all, you should be washing your hands for only about ten or fifteen seconds, not for a minute, not for five minutes. Then after 20 seconds, it’s more than enough to do it. Also, choose a soap that’s not so costly. You want to make sure and also you’re not using a brush or a wash cloth which can further irritate your skin. Number five, when you dry your hands, make sure that you pat your hands dry. Don’t rub because rubbing just further causes irritation. And the last and sixth most important is, how often do you have to wash your hands? Well, I have to wash my hands frequently because of what I do. Most people wash according to a conventional schedule of hygiene and eating meals but you don’t need to wash your hands every time you shake hands with somebody or every time we touch a door knob. Just use your judgment, moderation and this way, you’ll avoid irritation from appropriate hygiene that will help prevent the spread of germs that cause the flu and common cold. Please join me again at DermTV.com. If you have a question, please send it to me by visiting DermTV.com/question. I’m Dr. Neal Schultz and thank you for watching today.