Hand Hygiene and your Eyes

Only close to half of all people clean their hands after sneezing or coughing. A third hardly wash their hands before having lunch and almost half of all men and a quarter of women who visit the restroom fail to wash their hands. Yet handwashing is so easy and only requires water and soap. If you do not want to use water, a proper alcohol-based hand sanitizer will do.

People collect germs and dirt primarily with their hands throughout the day. When these germs get to the eyes, the nose, or the mouth, they increase the chances of sickness or possible infections. Therefore, if you would wash your hands frequently throughout the day, it would be possible to avoid eye diseases and infections. Such include corneal ulcers and conjunctivitis. Before inserting or removing contact lenses, removing an eyelash or dust from your eye, please wash your hands. Also, before dispensing medicine, treating a wound, or preparing food, please wash your hands properly.\

Though everyone should follow hygiene and handwashing measures, people who wear contact lenses should be extra careful. Also, people with the habit of touching their eyes with their hands should also wash their hands before touching their eyes.

The proper hand-washing procedure

Proper hand washing requires an individual to do the following:

●      Wet the hands and then dispense the soap on the palms. Scrub the hands until the production of foam.

●      Scrub the back, wrist, every finger, and under the fingernails for not less than 10 seconds.

●      Rinse the soap off thoroughly.

●      Dry the hands off with a clean cloth and turn off the water with a clean towel.

●      In the absence of soap and water, use hand sanitizers with not less than 60 percent alcohol content.

If you need to know more about hygiene and the importance of washing your hands for eye health, contact Vision Corner for advice.

Source: https://www.abrahameyeassociates.com/blog/how-hygiene-and-washing-hands-is-important-for-eye-health.html#:~:text=Relationship%20Between%20Hygiene%20and%20Eye%20Health&text=Also%2C%20people%20with%20the%20habit,cleaning%20should%20minimize%20the%20transfer.