What’s the easiest thing you can do to keep from getting sick?Get your flu shot?Cover your cough?Eat your fruits and vegetables?Right! Those are all great steps taken to prevent illness, but there’s another step that takes just 20 seconds and doesn’t involve needles or brussel sprouts.That step is simple – wash your hands. Wash them frequently with warm water and soap, especially before preparing or eating food, after using the bathroom, after coughing or sneezing and after handling money. If in doubt, wash your hands.Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective, but hands should be washed with soap and water if they are visibly soiled.Washing hands – it seems like a simple idea, doesn’t it? Yet the 2004 El Paso County Community Health Status Survey conducted by the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment revealed the following:* Only 44 percent of local residents wash their hands after using the restroom.* 37 percent don’t wash their hands before preparing a meal.* 61 percent don’t wash their hands before eating a meal.Take a minute to think: How often do you wash your hands? Do you wash your hands after changing diapers or blowing your nose? What about when you handle an animal or animal waste, or before and after treating a cut or wound?Germs are everywhere! Among the 60-plus diseases monitored by the Health Department, many are caused by bacteria and viruses that spread to humans through food and water, contact with animals and via close contact, such as shaking hands, sneezing, coughing and by touching surfaces that harbor germs. Here are a few examples of diseases that can be deterred from spreading if people wash their hands.Salmonellosis: an illness caused by the salmonella bacteria, which can result in diarrhea, fever, cramps, vomiting and other symptomsNorovirus: a common and very contagious viral illness that causes symptoms of nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, fever, muscle aches and headacheHepatitis A: a viral infection of the liver that can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, dark urine, jaundice (yellow skin/eyes), and flu-like symptoms (fever, headache, nausea and abdominal pain)Influenza (flu): a viral respiratory illness that includes symptoms such as fever, headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose and muscle achesThe connection between hand-washing and disease prevention is supported by research. The latest study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that hand-washing with soap and water can reduce pneumonia-related infections in children under age 5 by more than 50 percent.The Health Department believes that hand-washing is so important that it participates in the Southern Colorado Clean Hands Campaign, now in its third year, which includes Memorial Health System, Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, Peak Vista Community Health Centers, the Colorado Springs Fire Department, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the Pueblo City-County Health Department.Clean Hands Campaign posters, fliers, coloring sheets, certificates and other materials are available free of charge on the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment’s Web site at www.elpasocountyhealth.org.Please help us get the word out! For information about the Southern Colorado Clean Hands Campaign, call (719) 578-3199 or e-mail us at healthinfo@epchealth.org.Other key ways to stay healthyGet vaccinated: The most effective way to prevent the flu is to get a flu vaccination each year. The flu shot is approved for people ages 6 months and older, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions. The other option is the nasal-spray flu vaccine, which is approved for healthy people ages 2 to 49 years and those who are not pregnant.Cover your cough: Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Or, cough or sneeze into your sleeve, not your hands. Put used tissue in the waste basket. Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing.Avoid close contact with people who are sick: When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick, too.Stay home when you’re sick and encourage others to do the same: You will help prevent others from catching your illness.
