Hand hygiene is a simple habit for sanitation. Yet hand hygiene when done properly is the best way to prevent infections from spreading. Throughout the day you accumulate germs* on your hands from a variety sources, such as direct contact with people and animals, or contaminated surfaces. If you do not perform hand hygiene properly, you can infect yourself with these germs by touching your eyes, nose or mouth. You can also spread these germs through contacting with others or touching other surfaces.

Who should perform hand hygiene?

Hand hygiene should be part of everyone’s daily routines. You should always perform and remind your family members or people around to perform hand hygiene as well.

When to perform hand hygiene?

Although it is not possible to keep your bare hands germ-free, there are times when it is critical to clean your hands to limit the number and the spread of germs.

Always remember to clean your hands in the following situations:

Personal Hygiene:

1. Before touching the eyes, nose and mouth

2. Before eating or handling food

3. After using the toilets

4. After blowing nose, sneezing or coughing

After contacting or handling contaminated or dirty materials:

1. After changing diapers or handling soiled articles from children or the sick

2. After touching animals, poultry or their droppings

3. After handling garbage

4. After touching public installations or equipment, such as escalator handrail, elevator control panels or door knobs

Others:

1. Before and after visiting hospitals, residential care homes or caring for the sick

2. Any time you find your hands dirty

How to perform hand hygiene?

You should clean hands with liquid soap and water when visibly soiled or likely contaminated with body fluid. When hands are not visibly soiled, clean them with 70-80% alcohol-based hand-rub is also effective.

Steps for hand hygiene

a) Clean hands with liquid soap and water:

1. Wet hands under running water.

2. Apply liquid soap and rub hands together to make a soapy lather.

3. Away from the running water, rub the palms, back of hands, between fingers, back of fingers, thumbs, finger tips and wrists. Do this for at least 20 seconds.

4. Rinse hands thoroughly under running water.

5. Dry hands thoroughly with a clean cotton towel, a paper towel, or a hand dryer.

6. The cleaned hands should not touch the water tap directly again. The tap may be turned off:

? by using the towel wrapping the faucet; or

? after splashing water to clean the faucet.

Please note:

? Never share towels.

? Dispose of used paper towel properly.

? Store personal towels properly and wash them at least once daily. Preferably, prepare more towels for frequent replacement.

b) Clean hands with alcohol-based hand-rub:

1. Apply a palmful of alcohol-based hand-rub and cover all surfaces of the hands.

2. Rub the palms, back of hands, between fingers, back of fingers, thumbs, finger tips and wrists.

3. Rub for at least 20 seconds until the hands are dry.

* Germs include bacteria, viruses and other microbes

2. Use mosquito screens or nets when the room is not air-conditioned.

3. Place mosquito coil or electric mosquito mat / liquid near possible entrance, such as window, to prevent mosquito bites.

4. Prevent the accumulation of stagnant water

• Put all used cans and bottles into covered dustbins.
• Change water for plants at least once a week, leaving no water in the saucers underneath flower pots.
• Cover tightly all water containers, wells and water storage tanks.
• Keep all drains free from blockage.
• Top up all defective ground surfaces to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water.

Hydration Guidelines for Walkers

• Plain Water: For walks of an hour or less, plain water is the best drink.
• Add Salt: When your walk is going to be longer than an hour, a sports drink or salty foods such as pretzels can help with water absorption in the body as well as replacement of salt and energy.
• Drink Before You Walk: Prepare for your walk by drinking a tall glass of water (17 ounces or 500 mL) 2 hours before your walk. This will allow time for any extra to pass through you body before you hit the trail.
• Caffeine: Avoid caffeinated beverages before your walk, they cause you to lose fluid, making you thirstier as well as making you take inconvenient stops along the way.
• Salt Before a Long Walk: Before long walks, have a bit of extra salt with your meal or snack so you will have enough sodium to stay in balance.
• Plan for More Water: Carry water with you or plan for water stops along the route where you will be able to get a full drink of a cup of water every 20 minutes. A water fountain may not be able to deliver enough water for you to get a full cup.
• Drink When Thirsty: Older guidelines said to drink before you are thirsty, but new guidelines by USATF in 2003 for long distance runners and walkers say to use thirst as a guide and to drink when thirsty.
• Drinking When Sweating: If you are sweating more than usual, drink more than usual.
• High Altitude: You lose even more fluids at high altitudes, in heat and low humidity and need to drink more than usual. Again, let thirst be your guide and drink as soon as thirsty.
• Flavor Your Water: Make your water taste good so you will want to drink more. Add a squirt of lemon and keep it cool.
• Drinking After Your Walk: After your walk, end with another tall drink of water. After a long walk, do not overdo on plain water, use sports drink and/or salty foods to replenish salts as well
• Walking Water Calculator: Find out how much water you should be taking along or drinking from fountains, etc.

Signs of Dehydration

• nausea after exercise
• dark yellow urine or no urine
• dry, sticky mouth
• dry eyes

Pure Clean Water

• Tap water is perfectly fine for most purposes – in the US and Canada.
• Some walkers prefer the taste of filtered or designer water. Be sure to clean and dry single-use bottles before refilling them.
• Do not drink water from a lake or stream unless you filter or purify it. In many places there are nasty parasites such as Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium in the “unspoiled” mountain streams – because they are in the local squirrels and other animals.

Phil Shaw and his partner Ana Torres set up London Baby Swim in 2008, offering opportunities for parents and babies as young as six-weeks-old to take to the water and develop their skills.

And with enrolment numbers rising from just 85 in the first year to 500 this summer, it appears baby swimming classes are the hot new trend.

Shaw, who claims swimming is hugely beneficial for building muscles, holds a photoshoot at the end of every term.

He said: ‘The classes are great because the babies develop all sorts of motor skills.

‘In the first few years of a baby’s life they experience huge development as their brain grows faster than in later years.

‘With our swimming lessons we are helping babies to make new brain connections and strengthen their learning through skills and stimulation, and a weekly swim provides a good workout and improves the cardiovascular system’.

London Baby Swim has up to eight infants at a time in a class who are led by a team of qualified instructors.

Up until the age of around nine months, babies have a miraculous gag reflex which blocks off their windpipes as soon as they are underwater, allowing them to instinctively hold their breath.

Parents spend up to four weeks teaching their babies to get used to the water, holding them as they splash about.

And as part of the package, parents even get to keep a photographic momento of their child’s first dip.

Shaw began his underwater career photographing wildlife of all kinds, mainly in tropical spots around the world.

The 49-year-old set the school up in Osterley, West London two years ago after he was approached by another baby swimming centre to do some photography for some of its parents.

With baby swimming becoming more and more popular, Shaw has big plans to open new centres, staring with one in Ashford in Kent this October and another in North London in the winter.

- Water prevents DNA damage and repairs more efficiently.

- Water increases the efficiency of the immune system in the bone marrow, including against cancer.

- Water is the main solvent of all foods, vitamins, and minerals; used to break down these materials and metabolism and assimilation.

- Water gives energy to the food, so that food particles could provide energy during the digestive process.

- The water used as conductor of all substances in the body.

- Water increases the efficiency of red blood cells to capture oxygen in the lungs.

- Air cleaning toxic waste from different parts of the body and took it to the liver and kidneys to be excreted.

- Water is the main lubricant in the joint cells and helps prevent arthritis and back pain.

- Water cooling system is important for the body (through sweat) and heating the body (electrical).

- Water helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.

DHF patients help by guava juice, not because guava, but because the large quantities of liquid juice into the patient’s body. The liquid, especially if taken up to 5 or 6 cups a day, much-needed patients who have lost a lot of blood plasma due to decreased platelets.

Any liquid, either plain water or solution water of salt and sugar or other fruit juices, if consumed in large quantities can help the healing process of dengue fever patients . Drinks in cans containing electrolytes is also recommended given to patients.

Here are some types of liquids that could give to people with dengue fever to avoid dehydration:

1. Coconut water
The UN World Food Agency (FAO – Food & Agriculture Organization) recognizes that the properties of young coconut water as a thirst-killing substances rich in natural electrolytes. Electrolyte and nutritional substance more than just drink the thirst-killing factory production. Mentioned in the FAO official website that the young coconut juice natural, delicious, rich in salt, sugar, and vitamins needed Olympic-class athletes and amateurs. In fact, the UN agency has patented a young coconut water is efficacious.

In the young coconut water has minerals potassium, sodium, chloride, and magnesium. These substances are electrolytes the body needs to help overcome the threat of shock in dehydrated condition. Besides potassium, also contains sugar, vitamins B and C and protein. Sugars and minerals composition contained in water is so perfect, that mentioned a similar balance with human body fluids.

2. Hexagonal Water
Chinese traditional medicine, always suggested  “live water” consumption. Never mentioned mean “life” is. In Korea, people who diligently take waterfalls in the mountains maintained their health, according to Yunjo Chung, MD, a doctor from the University of Korea. “Live water” could be a  rich water in oxygen content as the waterfall.

Korea has recently successfully patented a technology called Actimo to make water “life” that has oxygen and sold throughout the world. According to them, in the human body there are two forms of water compounds, pentagonal (pentagons) and hexagonal (hexagonal).

Hexagonal and pentagonal distinction was only based on its structure. Pentagonal water molecules form a series of water with a large group of bonds and unstable. As usual white water, hexagonal water is not tasteless and odorless. (see rubric You Need to Know in the 290th edition SENIOR)

3. Fruit juice
Lack of fluid because of dengue fever can also be overcome by water juice. Not always have guava juice. Can papaya juice, orange, or mango juice, as long as the patient likes.

Water content in the fruit high count, which varies between 65 to 92 percent, so that it can cover the lack of fluid from blood plasma absorb out of the vessel.

Michael T. Murray, ND, in his book The Complete Book of Juicing, write that juice is easily absorbed by body for its smooth and fluid. Known nutrients such as the intestine absorbed in the form of juice. Means juice helps the digestive process by accelerating the body’s absorption of nutrients high quality contained in the juice.

4. Guava
Although not medically proven, it never wrong to give the guava juice for dengue fever patients. Therefore, this exotic fruit has very high vitamin C.

Vitamin C is found in the flesh. Seeds are often not consumed also contains vitamin C. Mentioned in the book Foods that Heal, Foods that Harm, 90 grams of guava fruit is more than enough to meet the daily need of vitamin C in adults. The book also mentions, though it lost nearly 25 percent of the vitamin because the process of processing, packaging guava juice box is still a source of vitamin C is good.

Thanks to contain high doses of vitamin C is, immunity against bacteria in the body will increase. Any wound healing process go faster. In addition, blood pressure is also getting better because of this fruit is a good source of potassium.

To get the largest benefit, select fruit that had just ripe and still green and yellow. When fully ripe, store in the refrigerator. Do not forget to wash before made juice.

5. Alang-Alang
Wild plants named Latin Imperata cylindrica (L) Beauv has been often studied, foreign weeds have made patent medicines.
Research on this plant mention, reeds contain mannitol, glucose, sakharosa, malic acid, citric acid, coixol, arundoin, cylindrin, fernenol, simiarenol, anemonin, grit acid, resin, and alkali metals. Judging from the contents, the weeds are antipyretic (reduce heat), diuretics (urine shed), hemostatik (stop bleeding), and end the thirsty.

Traditional Chinese Medicine says, the weeds have a sweet and cool properties. The effect of this treatment plant enters the lung meridian, stomach and small intestine. With the launch diuretic properties urine, reeds useful to treat acute renal inflammatory disease.

Diuretic properties which remove useless body fluids is useful for controlling blood pressure is likely get high. Hemostatik properties that can stop the bleeding can also be used to overcome the nosebleed and internal bleeding.

These herbs in the body will infiltrate into the organs of the lungs, stomach and small intestine. Therefore, weed herb should not given to those who are weak stomach functions and urinary frequency.

Part of reed plants can be used as traditional medicine is a rhizome, either fresh or dried. Reed materials found in the Chinese medicine shop. Now readily available even reeds drink instant hot efficacious in eliminating. This instant beverages are available in herbal shops or Chinese medicine shop.

How to use, take one bunch or roll roots of the weeds. Wash and boil in three cups of water until the remaining one cup. Mix the juice of one lime juice with three tablespoons of water weeds such. Use as needed. Add sweetener if the herb for children.

6. Angkung
Angkung believed to help cure the disease meningitis, stroke, brain inflammation, liver disease, seizures, and lack of body fluids as well as in the case of dengue fever. However, unfortunately angkung very expensive price. Price one pill angkung reached USD 250 thousand. Angkung usually sold in packs of pills in Chinese medicine shop.

Careful when buying because the angkung market identified many false. The characteristics of the original angkung including pills wrapped in gold paper after opening the box. Angkung pill form like porridge, flexible but easily broken. Other characteristics, very quickly dissolves when brewed with hot water, even in less than 1 minute. Characteristics that are easily recognized are authenticity of the outer packaging is the hologram label and sign manufacturers.

In addition to the expensive cost, the benefits are not immediate angkung after drinking one or two eggs. Just felt Angkung savour to overcome severe illness taken regularly after 6 to 8 pills every day.

7. Daun Dewa
God leaves of plants can also be used as a substitute angkung. This plant-shaped bush. Leaf is part of the plant used as a medicine.
This herb is rich with various chemical ingredients such as saponins, ASIRI oils, flavonoids, and tannins. With the chemical content of the plant are useful as an anticoagulant (dilute blood clot), stop the bleeding, remove the heat, clean toxin.

Plant gods are also available in Chinese drug stores in capsule form. The price is relatively cheaper than angkung.

Water that you and your family drink should always be safe and clean. Water clean and safe to drink not determined only from the good treatment, but also from the storage. Find out how to keep your drinking water right and not exposed by disease due to contaminated by bacteria.

- Select a container of water storage is safe and clean. Secure the containers that have closed, narrow-necked and would be better if equipped with a faucet. If using plastic container, make sure plastic materials are safe.

- Drinking water should be stored in container processing. If it had to be moved, minimize contact with the hands because of the risk by bacterial contamination. Make sure the storage containers are always clean.

- Put the water storage containers in a place difficult to reach any animal. Start from cockroaches, rats and spiders usually in the kitchen.

- Don’t drink water straight from the container. Use a glass or mug. If taken directly without using any other containers could contaminate by very high bacterial.

- Water storage should be washed every three day. Use clean and boiled water as a final rinse. Ensure that the water storage is always closed.

1. Add fluid intake
Liquids useful help snot so thin and easy to clean.

2. Gargle salt water
Mix a half teaspoon of salt into a glass of warm water, use it to rinse. Do not swallow. This is useful to relieve sore throat and clear mucus.

3. Honey and lemon
Mix honey and lemon into a glass of hot water. Let cool before drinking. Honey useful to relieve sore throat and lemon helps reduce mucus.

4. Throat lozenge
It not just a throat lozenge, candy is also beneficial because it usually encourages saliva production. Saliva will wash and clean your throat.

5. Aroma therapy
Essential oil was used to kill germs. Put the essential oils into the furnace to clean the room from the seeds of disease. You can also sleep more soundly because of the smell of therapy.

6. Avoid smoke and other air pollutants
Cigarettes will only aggravate the sore throat. Stop smoking and avoid smoke from anywhere.

7. Fast talk
Sore throat affect your vocal chords. Talk just exacerbates the pain, while you’ll lose votes.

8. Do not spread your disease
If you do not feel well get permission not entered office. So you do not share the disease with office colleagues.

- The body weight is heavier
The fact found that the swine flu victims have the same characteristics, that body mass index over 40. Being overweight can cause imbalances hormonal, inflammation, and disrupt the body’s ability to fight infection.

- Nasal Cavity is too dry
Clogged nose is very disturbing. But, if our nasal cavity is too dry, it is also not good, because mucus in the nose is useful to “trap” and clean incoming viruses. If there’s no mucus in the nose, it gave access for germs to attack our body’s defenses.

- Not enough drink
There’s a reason why doctors are always pushing us a lot to drink when sick. The body needs lots of water to remove toxins. The need to drink for every person is different, depending on the condition of the body and their respective activities. To know whether we had enough to drink or not is to see the color of urine. A good urine color is clear or pale clear yellow.

- Prolonged stress
No coincidence that we get flu when the work in the office is piling up. American Psychological Association reported that long-term stress can weaken our immune response. “If we stress during the flu, symptoms can be sure that we will experience will be even worse,” said Philip Thierno.

- Not feel well often
Typically, adults get flu about 2-3 times a year. If we are experiencing more than this, it can be ascertained the condition of the body is at a low level and should be followed up immediately with rest and nutritious food.