MicrobeWorld

When Should I Wash?

Before you

• Prepare or eat food
• Treat a cut or wound
• Tend to someone who's sick
• Put in or take out contact lenses
• Do any kind of activity that involves putting your fingers in or near your mouth, eyes, etc.

After you

• Go to the bathroom
• Handle uncooked foods, especially raw meat
• Eat
• Blow your nose, cough or sneeze
• Handle garbage
• Tend to someone who's sick
• Change a diaper
• Play with or touch a pet, especially reptiles and exotic animals

Handwashing is mostly a matter of common sense. And what happens when you skimp on that common sense? That's the subject of a video created by some students at River Ridge High School in New Port Richey, Fla. (You can choose the 2.2M high bandwidth version or, if you're using a modem, the 513K low bandwidth version might be a lot faster for you. You'll need the Quicktime player to view these video files. You can download it for free here.)