Protecting Our Bodies From Germs By Simply Washing Our Hands
Germs can be found pretty much everywhere, in all sorts of places—on food, on animals, in the soil and water, etc. However, most germs won’t cause any harm, due to the fact that our body’s immune system helps protect us against the infectious agents. With that in mind, not all germs are harmless, as they constantly try to breach the defenses of our immune system. What this means is that germs work in such a way that it increases our chances to get sick.
How To Protect Ourselves
As you will see during the course of this article, the biggest thing that can cause infections is our hands. We can pick up plenty of germs on our hands throughout the days, from a number of places, including door handles, the keyboard at work, the fridge, etc.
The best way to protect ourselves is by simply washing our hands. Try to think about all the things that you touch throughout the day and then how you use your hands without washing and you will realize how easy it is to get dangerous germs in your body.
If you’ve ever been in a hospital, then you will remember how thorough the doctors and staff can be when it comes to washing their hands. That thoroughness shouldn’t be applied just to hospital personnel. We can adopt the same practices at home as well.
Washing our hands is something that can’t be overemphasized if we want to stay healthy. Besides using water and soap in order to make sure we get rid of the germs, we can also use something like Hibiclens, which is a skin cleanser and an antiseptic, working to kill germs on contact.
What Do Germs Do
Once the bacteria enter the body and multiplies, the infection starts setting in, which results in a disease. The disease occurs once the infection causes damage to the cells in our body, which is when symptoms of an illness start appearing. In order to fight the infection, the immune system fights it using its mechanisms (including antibodies and white blood cells), trying to get rid of the bacteria that are at the source of the infection.
Types of Germs
Germs can come in various forms, having different sizes and different shapes. Bacteria are one-celled organisms which can produce toxins in order to make the body sick or damage tissues. However, there are some bacteria that are harmless (including the ones that live in our bodies), but they can also be helpful in various processes, such as providing nutrients, destroying organisms that cause diseases, or help with the digestion of food.
Viruses are smaller when compared to bacteria, and they can invade cells within the body, taking over the machinery which makes the cells work—often times destroying the host cells. Fungi are also a type of germ, being responsible for various illnesses, from candida to athlete’s foot or ringworm. Protozoans are also single-celled organisms (like bacteria), and while some are harmless, they can also cause diseases such as malaria or giardia.
How Do Germs Invade The Body
While some people believe that the only way to contact germs is by inhaling them from the air, the reality is that inhaling them is only one way of virus transmission. Our bodies can contact germs through the nose and mouth, but also through the eyes and ears. Touching our nose and mouth with our hands can increase the chances of us catching a virus. Wearing a mask will decrease the odds, but one major action that will help drastically is washing our hands. Catching a virus with our eyes is also a possibility, and it’s made possible once again by our hands. Picking up a germ on our hands then rubbing our eyes can drastically increase the odds of getting sick.
It’s also worth noting that nasal secretions contain viruses in a larger amount compared to throat secretions or saliva. What this means is that in case we are sick we should dispose of our tissues in order to not make the people around us sick. Washing our hands properly and thoroughly (or using hand sanitizer when water and soap are not available) are the best ways to make sure that we keep our bodies healthy.
