How to wash your hands

Washing your hands can help protect you against germs and illnesses. This video reminds us how to wash our hands effectively.

Do the preparation task first. Then watch the video and do the exercises. Remember you can read the transcript at any time.

Preparation

Video zone: How to wash your hands – preparation

Transcript

As you know, flu season is upon us. You're coming in contact with the flu virus and many other germs. They're on shopping carts, door handles, even around your house. You may not even realise how many times you're touching your nose, your mouth, your eyes, and you're going to get sick from it.

The best way to prevent this is to wash your hands with a good old-fashioned bar of soap. The first thing you want to do – turn on the water to a warm temperature, get a good lather going in your hands. Be sure to wash the palms of your hands. Take that, wash the back sides as well. Try to focus on getting your thumbs nice and clean and soapy, and in between your fingers. And, if you can, make sure you wash the tips as well.

When you're all done, rinse off your hands, take a paper towel, dry off, use the paper towel to turn off the water.

The best length of time to wash your hands is 20 seconds. If you want something a little more fun, you can hum 'Happy Birthday' in your head two times, and you'll be just great.

Protect yourself, protect your family this season against all the germs and viruses that are out there.

Clean hands for a healthy life.

Task 1

Video zone: How to wash your hands – 1

Task 2

Video zone: How to wash your hands – 2

Discussion

Did you learn anything new from the video?

Download

Worksheet59.99 KB

Language level

B2 Upper intermediate

C1 Advanced

C2 Proficiency

Topics

health and fitness

Not really, I am a health professional and this information is basic for us

I wash my hands carefully before every meal and I advise my brother to wash his hands carefully many times to protect himself from germs & flu.

Yes, I learned a new thing: turning off the water using the paper towel, I used to turn it off using the back side of my hand.

Did you learn anything new from the video?
yes, I learn how many seconds I wash my hand properly. I always wash my hand at least 10 to 12 time a day because I have a dog and he always plays with me.

In this time of pandemic I learned to wash my hands well, but I have never seen a video where a doctor explained it to me better, because I did not know that a bar of soap is better than a liquid one and that I also have to wash my fingertips.

Yes, this is the most effective way to prevent getting coronavirus.

Indeed! Quite surprised to learn that to perform an effective handwash you need an old-fashioned bar soap. Has this been scientifically proven?

Actually, I have been looking into this some months ago. And yes, it has been proven. I think I can find the info again, I cannot remember if it was in The Lancet. But for now I found this short article in New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/science/10qna.html

In fact, in my country we are cleaning our hands exactly like this video. But I want to say something. I think that while washing our hands, we should turn off the tap. In this way we prevent a big waste.

You could be right but it hardly takes more than 20 seconds to complete the thing. However, the waste water could be recycled for use in many other ways that support environmental sustainance and safety.