Health news, tips and features: Healia Health Blog

December 6th, 2007

Hand-Washing is the Best Defense Against Catching and Spreading Flu Virus

Health News posted 4 years ago by The Healia Team

December is the first official month of flu season so make sure to wash your hands; hand-washing is the best defense against catching and spreading influenza viruses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 5% to 20% of U.S. residents get the flu, and more than 200,000 persons are hospitalized for flu-related complications each year.

National Hand-Washing Awareness Week is the first full week of December each year. According to the Henry the Hand Website, the four principles of hand washing are:

Wash your hands when they are dirty and before eating.
Do not cough into your hands.
Do not sneeze into your hands.
Above all, do not put your fingers in your eyes, nose, or mouth.

The most common way that influenza viruses are spread is from person to person through respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes (this is called "droplet spread”). This can happen when the droplets of a cough or sneeze from infected people are propelled (generally up to 3 feet) through the air and deposited on the mouth or nose of people nearby.

Flu viruses can also be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets on another person or an object and subsequently touches their own mouth or nose (or someone else’s mouth or nose) before washing their hands.

For more information regarding the flu or hand-washing, visit healia.com.