Psssst....anyone heard of a little thing called swine flu? Unless you live in a cave (in which case, you probably wouldn't be sitting at a computer reading this), there's no doubt you've probably caught wind of the dreaded H1N1 virus, which at last count has infected more than 6,000 individuals in the world. Despite the fact that China is blocking off hotels and quarantining anyone even showing mild symptoms of the flu, health officials in Mexico, where the virus is believed to have originated, are encouraging tourists to come back to the country, a notorious vacation spot that has seen tourism take a big hit thanks to the illness.
You probably fall into one of three categories: you're terrified and are ready to lock away anyone showing even one symptom of the disease and throw away the key; you really couldn't care less becasue 6,000 people doesn't seem like all that much in a world full of billions, or somewhere in between, where you're concerned, but not enough to don a mask everywhere you go. No matter which of these classifications fits you, there's one solid mantra that seems to have emerged: Wash. Your. Hands.
Now this doesn't need to be excessive (every five minutes might be over-doing it just a tad), however good hand hygiene is the best way of preventing the spread of any illness. Though it's a practice you've probably been familiar with since you were a small child, there are actually formal instructions and tutorials for carrying out this age-old practice, if you can believe it. And as silly as it may seem to review something so...elementary, there's a good chance you've fallen into sloppy hand-washing practices and could use a little refresher. However, what some of the instructions don't include is the environmentally conscious way of going about this. We've taken the tutorial from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term care and modified it to make it a bit more eco-friendly.
1. Get your hands wet with some warm running water.
2. Turn off the water.
3. Add some soap, then rub your hands together to get a good lather going. (Since you aren't supposed to do this under running water, there isn't any point in leaving it on, is there?). Continue to rub hands together with soap for a minimum of 15 seconds, ensuring you don't accidentally remove the lather. Wash all over the hand - front, back, in between fingers and underneath your nails.
4. Turn the water back on.
5. Use the water to thoroughly wash away all traces of soap.
6. Turn off the water.
7. Pat hands dry with a reusable towel if you have access to one. If not, try to use only one paper towel instead of several.
The directions follow the same pattern as the official ones provided (which you can view after the jump), but differ slightly. For one thing, there doesn't seem to be a lot of point in leaving water running unnecessarily, especially when we know it's such a precious resource. We also adjusted the final two steps so that you are turning water off before you dry your hands. That choice is up to you. If you feel it's more sanitary to use your towel or paper towel to shut off the faucet, by all means, do it that way, however if you don't feel shutting it off first will compromise your newly-cleaned hands, then save some water and shut it off before drying.
Now comes the question of which soap products are best to use. You can try making your own soap so you know the exact ingredients going into it and avoid a bunch of unnecessary synthetic additions. If store-bought is more your speed, try one of Dr. Bronner's great soap products, which are free from the aforementioned synthetic detergents and preservatives.
» Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care