Washing your hands
Washing your hands properly removes dirt, viruses and bacteria to stop them spreading to other people and objects. It is one of the easiest ways to protect yourself and others from spreading illnesses such as:
- flu
- COVID-19
- food poisoning
- other winter infections such as gastroenteritis also known as winter vomiting disease or norovirus
You can find further information on when to wash your hands and a video showing you how to wash your hands properly on the NHS website.
If you don’t have soap and water you can use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
Children are particularly at risk of picking up infections and spreading them to other people. You can view this NHS video which uses a song and hand puppet to help teach children the proper handwashing technique.