Wash your hands properly and often
You should wash your hands:
- after coughing or sneezing
- before and after eating
- before and after preparing food
- if you were in contact with someone who has a fever or respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing)
- before and after being on public transport, if you must use it
- before and after being in a crowd (especially an indoor crowd)
- when you arrive and leave buildings including your home or anyone else’s home
- if you have handled animals or animal waste
- before having a cigarette or vaping
- if your hands are dirty
- after toilet use
Keep your hands in good condition. Moisturise them often. Any basic product that is not perfumed or coloured is OK.
Hand hygiene at home
When you’re at home or not in hospital, make sure you clean your hands:
after you use the toilet.
once you clean up after your pet.
before you prepare food, handle food or eat.
after touching raw meat.
after you use public transport.
when you get home after meeting lots of people.
Appropriate hand hygiene includes diligently cleaning and trimming fingernails, which may harbor dirt and germs and can contribute to the spread of some infections, such as pinworms. Fingernails should be kept short, and the undersides should be cleaned frequently with soap and water. Because of their length, longer fingernails can harbor more dirt and bacteria than short nails, thus potentially contributing to the spread of infection.
Before clipping or grooming nails, all equipment (for example, nail clippers and files) should be properly cleaned. Sterilizing equipment before use is especially important when nail tools are shared among a number of people, as is common in commercial nail salons.
Infections of the fingernails or toenails are often characterized by swelling of the surrounding skin, pain in the surrounding area, or thickening of the nail. In some cases, these infections may be serious and need to be treated by a physician.
To help prevent the spread of germs and nail infections:
- Keep nails short and trim them often.
- Scrub the underside of nails with soap and water (or a nail brush) every time you wash your hands.
- Clean any nail grooming tools before use.
- In commercial settings such as nail salons, sterilize nail grooming tools before use.
- Avoid biting or chewing nails.
- Avoid cutting cuticles, as they act as barriers to prevent infection.
- Never rip or bite a hangnail. Instead, clip it with a clean, sanitized nail trimmer.