{"id":1654,"date":"2017-10-18T18:09:06","date_gmt":"2017-10-18T18:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/appletreekids.org\/?p=1654"},"modified":"2017-10-18T18:09:06","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T18:09:06","slug":"handwashing-powerful-antidote-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/appletreekids.org\/handwashing-powerful-antidote-illness","title":{"rendered":"Handwashing: A Powerful Antidote To Illness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1655\" src=\"http:\/\/appletreekids.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Washing-Hands.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"187\" \/>How many times have you and your child washed your hands today?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You might not have given it much thought. It\u2019s either part of your routine, done frequently without thinking, or maybe you don\u2019t do it much at all. But as your pediatrician may have told you, hand washing may be the single most important act you and your child have for\u00a0disease prevention.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Making It Habit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As early as possible, get your child into the habit of washing her hands often and thoroughly. All day long, your child is exposed to bacteria and viruses\u2014when touching a playmate, sharing toys, or petting the cat. Once her hands pick up these\u00a0germs, she can quickly infect herself by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rubbing her eyes<\/li>\n<li>Touching her nose<\/li>\n<li>Placing her fingers in her mouth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The whole process can happen in seconds, and cause an infection that can last for days, weeks, or even longer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When To Wash<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hand washing can stop the spread of infection. The key is to encourage your child to wash her hands throughout the day. For example, help her or remind her to wash her hands:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Before eating (including snacks)<\/li>\n<li>After a trip to the\u00a0bathroom<\/li>\n<li>Whenever she comes in from\u00a0playing outdoors<\/li>\n<li>After touching an animal like a family\u00a0pet<\/li>\n<li>After sneezing or\u00a0coughing\u00a0if she covers her mouth<\/li>\n<li>When someone in the household is ill<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Studies on hand washing in\u00a0public restrooms\u00a0show that most people don\u2019t have very good hygiene habits. \u201cHand washing\u201d may mean just a quick splash of water and perhaps a squirt of soap, but not nearly enough to get their hands clean.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Steps to Proper Hand Washing<br \/>\n<\/strong>So what does a thorough hand washing involve? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the following steps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wet your child\u2019s hands.<\/li>\n<li>Apply clean bar soap or liquid soap to the hands, and then place the bar on a rack where it can drain before the next hand washing.<\/li>\n<li>Rub the hands vigorously together. Scrub every surface completely.<\/li>\n<li>Keep rubbing and scrubbing for 10 to 15 seconds to effectively remove the germs.<\/li>\n<li>Rinse the hands completely, then dry them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How Long to Wash<br \/>\n<\/strong>Keep in mind that although 10 to 15 seconds of hand washing sounds like an instant, it is much longer than you think. Time yourself the next time you wash your hands. Watch your child while she\u2019s washing her hands to make sure she\u2019s developing good hygiene behaviors. Pick a song that lasts for 15 seconds and sing it while you wash. Encourage your child to wash her hands not only at home, but also at school, at friends\u2019 homes, and everywhere else. It\u2019s an important habit for her to get into, and hopefully one that\u2019s hard to break!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article Source(s):<br \/>\n<\/strong>Immunizations \uff06 Infectious Diseases: An Informed Parent&#8217;s Guide (Copyright \u00a9 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics)<\/p>\n<p><strong>https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/health-issues\/conditions\/prevention\/Pages\/Hand-Washing-A-Powerful-Antidote-to-Illness.aspx<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How many times have you and your child washed your hands today? You might not have given it much thought. It\u2019s either part of your routine, done frequently without thinking, or maybe you don\u2019t do it much at all. But as your pediatrician may have told you, hand washing may be the single most important [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,3,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Handwashing: A Powerful Antidote To Illness - Apple Tree Learning Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/appletreekids.org\/handwashing-powerful-antidote-illness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Handwashing: A Powerful Antidote To Illness - Apple Tree Learning Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How many times have you and your child washed your hands today? 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