To prevent infection you should wash your hands thoroughly several times a day: before and after preparing food, before eating, after using the toilet, before and after contact with sick people, after touching animals and after contact with contaminated material.

When you come home, the first thing you should do is wash your hands. In everyday life we constantly touch objects such as bannisters, door handles, support rails on public transport, banknotes, coins, displays, computer keyboards, etc. All these things could have pathogens on them.

Wash your hands with plenty of hot water and soap. Don't forget your finger nails and the area between your fingers. A 30-second hand-wash is enough to clean your hands thoroughly. If you don’t want to count the seconds you can sing “Happy Birthday” twice over instead. Or Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” once over if you prefer.

After washing your hands, dry them thoroughly with a clean towel. At work or in restaurants you should dry them with a paper towel if possible. A short video about hand hygiene from BZgA (the Federal Centre for Health Education) is available here. A brochure produced by the patient safety alliance APS provides more tips about ways to prevent infection.

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