Hand Washing

BILLINGS - Health officials expect the number of people infected with swine flu to increase greatly this fall, but there is a something simple you can do protect yourself from the virus and the solution could be within your own grasp. "Wash your hands," said Jennifer Mellgren Blackford, Quality Specialist at Billings Clinic. "You really need to take the 15 seconds, the happy birthday song. That will give you the proper amount of time to create friction and get rid of the organic materials that could be on your hands." To show the difference between simply rinsing and properly washing, both Nancy Iversen from Billings Clinic and I, Jared Bray, placed glow in the dark lotion on our hands. Afterwards, I rinsed quickly and she scrubbed more thoroughly. Once placed under a black light, it was clear that my hands were still covered in germs. Meanwhile, not much glowed on Nancy's hands. "Washing your hands is important in that aspect of keeping yourself from getting those transient microorganisms that can be disease causing," said Blackford. Blackford and Iversen also said hand sanitizers are effective, but nothing is better at eliminating germs than good old fashioned hand washing.

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