For how long should you scrub your hands?

Washing your hands with soap and water is one of the best ways to stay healthy, and one of the simplest. Germs from unwashed hands get into the body when we touch our eyes, nose or mouth. They get into food when we cook or eat without washing first. They also pass from surfaces to people, and from one person to another when someone coughs or sneezes into their hands and then touches something else.

So when should you wash? Before, during and after preparing food; before and after eating; after using the toilet; after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing; after touching animals, their food or their waste; and after touching rubbish.

The method has five simple steps. Wet your hands with clean running water and put on soap. Rub your hands together to make a lather, not forgetting the backs of your hands, the gaps between your fingers and the skin under your nails. Keep scrubbing for at least twenty seconds. Rinse your hands well under clean running water. Finally, dry them with a clean towel or let them dry in the air.

If soap and water are not available, a hand sanitiser can be used instead, but it should contain at least 60 per cent alcohol.