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Posted by on Feb 23, 2015 in TellMeWhy |

Why Should You Wash Your Hands Before Meals?

Why Should You Wash Your Hands Before Meals?

Let us find out why should you wash your hands before meals? Washing your hands before meals is the best way to stop germs from spreading. It’s easy for a germ on your hand to end up in your mouth, so you must wash your hands so those germs don’t get a chance to make you or someone else sick.

Why is it important to use soap when you wash your hands? Soap and friction help lift dirt, grease, and microbes—including disease-causing germs—from skin so they can then be rinsed off of hands.

We live in a world full of germs so it is wise to remove as many as possible before coming into contact with food, which provides an ideal breeding ground. Most of commonly called germs are harmless and some are even beneficial. Others, which are called pathogenic (disease producing), invade the body and live by feeding off body tissues.

Bacteria, which are tiny single-called organisms, cause diseases such as diphtheria, cholera, leprosy, whooping-cough, typhoid fever, tetanus and scarlet fever, etc. Viruses are so small that scientists can see them only under immensely powerful electron microscopes. Yet they are responsible for an enormous range of human diseases, from clods to rabies. So now you know why should you wash your hands before meals.

So when are the best times to wash your hands?

  • when your hands are dirty

  • before eating or touching food (like if you’re helping cook or bake, for example)

  • after using the bathroom

  • after blowing your nose or coughing

  • after touching pets or other animals

  • after playing outside

  • before and after visiting a sick relative or friend

Content for this question contributed by Aaron Gillmore, resident of Aptos, Santa Cruz County, California, USA