Washing and keeping our hands clean is a simple but important process that has no significant cost and whose importance has re-emerged thanks to Covid 19. In addition, clean hands are the most basic method of protection recommended to protect against respiratory diseases.
World. According to the data of the Health Organization, lower respiratory tract diseases can be reduced by 45 percent by paying attention to hand washing and other simple hygiene recommendations.
Hand washing has been a habit in various religions and cultures for thousands of years. If you remember, it was not for nothing that our mothers asked everyone to wash their hands before eating in our childhood days...
In the 1800s, when microorganisms had not yet been fully discovered, Hungarian-born Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was a mother who gave birth to a new baby in the hospital where he worked. In the deaths, he observed that doctors transmitted germs to mothers who gave birth without washing their hands after working on cadavers. He required the doctors he worked with to wash their hands and the tools they used with chlorine solution. In this way, maternal deaths dropped from 18 percent to 1 percent. However, as a result of objections, Dr. Summelweis lost his job, it was claimed that he had a mental health problem, and he died at the age of 47. Afterwards, hand washing in surgery was taken very seriously, led by British Dr. Joseph Lister was a pioneer. Florence Nightingale, the founder of today's modern nursing in the Ottoman Empire, was a pioneer in popularizing hand washing and hygiene rules in military hospitals during the Crimean War.
When we wash our hands with soap, viruses are broken down and destroyed, so how does this happen?
The coronavirus has the virus genome in the middle, a protective lipid membrane around it, and then the protein ends. The virus settles into human cells and multiplies using these protein ends. When we wash our hands thoroughly with soap for a minute, the soap molecules in the water adhere to the fragile lipid membrane of the viruses, easily breaking this membrane, so that the viral particles are washed away by the water. is washed and destroyed. By the way, most of the antiseptics, disinfectants and germicides marketed in the market are cleaner than cleaning hands with soap and water. I would like to point out that it may not protect you well. Washing your hands as often as possible with plenty of soapy water and rubbing them thoroughly, including between the fingers and wrists, for not less than a minute is sufficient for protection. In cases where soap and water are not available, 80-degree cologne or alcohol-based hand disinfectant can be used. However, excessive hand cleaning with alcohol more often than necessary can dry out the skin and cause cracks and eczema. Therefore, hands should be moistened with moisturizing cream several times and avoid contact with the face and eyes. Gloves are only suitable for Covid 19 patients, patient relatives, and healthcare workers. People on the street may have a false sense of security just because they are using gloves, which may lead to further transmission of the virus. If gloves must be used, hands should be washed with soapy water before removing them, then they should be considered as medical waste and should not be used a second time. Nowadays, the importance of washing our hands properly is becoming more and more understood every day. The first priority in body cleansing should be to wash our hands.
I wish you healthy and clean days, sir.
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