From dressing warmly to eating soup, there is a lot of info out there on how not to get sick during winter, but staying healthy might be as easy as washing your hands…
Everyone from your grandmother to strangers you meet on the street have something to say about the best way not to get sick. We’ve been told about swallowing a garlic clove, not going out with wet hair and even not sitting in the winter sun!
The bad news is that none of those will stop you from getting sick, but the good news is we teamed up with Lifebuoy to bring you much better advice (and it’s easier to follow too).
Handwashing… with soap!
Science shows that washing hands prevents illnesses, and it’s a really, really great way to stop you from catching a cold. In fact, this 2014 study looked at loads of different studies that researched ways of preventing the common cold, and found that simply handwashing with soap was supported by the best evidence.
Handwashing with soap is so effective at preventing illnesses like colds and flus because it kills the the germs that we collect on our hands and end up transferring to our eyes, noses and mouths without even realising it.
To harness the disease-preventing power of handwashing, you have to do it properly! The most important times to wash your hands are before eating and after going to the toilet. And make sure you dry your hands thoroughly afterwards.
Washing hands also helps save children’s lives
Every 23 seconds, a child dies from either pneumonia or diarrhoea worldwide, but the incredibly simple act of handwashing is the most effective way of stopping these unnecessary deaths. Handwashing can reduce the number of kids with pneumonia by 23% and diarrhoea by up to 45%. That’s why it’s so important to teach kids good handwashing habits as early as possible.
Lifebuoy wants to help spread good hygiene habits and keep kids in school
The Lifebuoy Programme teaches kids the importance of handwashing with soap at the right moments. These good habits can dramatically limit the spread of preventable illnesses and keep children healthy, which means they can attend and enjoy school more often.
The programme teaches these skills to over 1 million grade 1 students all over South Africa every year. By the end of 2019, Lifebuoy will have educated 9 million children in our country! And all you need to do to help is to keep buying Lifebuoy soap.
By choosing Lifebuoy, you’re helping the Lifebuoy Programme teach the importance of good hygiene habits to millions of young lives globally. Click here to find out more about how Lifebuoy is saving kids’ lives in South Africa and around the world.
