Habits: Regular handwashing can save your life

VITAL SIGNS

Almost 49 per cent of these deaths (4,294 million) occurred in five countries, with India having the dubious distinction of leading the group.

One of the most important aspects of healthcare that we, in India, tend to overlook is health and hygiene practices among children.

Doctors agree that the incidence of various infectious diseases like swine flu and dengue is increasing rapidly due to lack of sanitation and hygiene. Public health interventions are urgently needed to break this chain of transmission.

Experts aver that the incidence of infectious diseases can be reduced significantly with a mere implementation of simple interventions like hand washing.

It’s time to get back to the basic principles of health and hygiene. Simple elementary measures such as hand washing with a disinfectant/ soap before eating food and after going to the toilet, itself can significantly reduce the soaring incidence of infectious diseases.

Preventing the spread of infectious diseases is predominantly about breaking the chain of transmission of these diseases. Maintaining personal hygiene is the best way of doing this. Hand hygiene in particular is a very effective way of preventing the spread of some of the commonest infectious diseases. The origin of a large number of diseases might be traced to contact with contaminated surfaces.

Diseases like diarrhoea, typhoid, influenza and swine flu spread through contact with germs on doorknobs, lift buttons and bus handles. Maintaining personal hygiene, therefore, is very important. Washing your hands regularly is a very effective method of keeping infections at bay.