Not washing your hands can cause illness and including death. Human or animal feces (poop) are an important source of microbes, which can cause diarrhea and even some respiratory infections.
To prevent this, washing your hands with soap is essential, as it eliminates these microbes. It is very important that children learn to wash their hands correctly since the figures are very alarming.
Diarrheal diseases and pneumonia are the main causes of death in children
Around 1.8 million children under 5 years of age die each year from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, which are the two leading causes of death in young children worldwide. In case you didn’t know, here are some key questions about handwashing that you should know:
- Washing your hands with soap could protect 1 in 3 children who get sick with diarrhea and almost 1 in 5 young children with respiratory infections such as pneumonia.
- If everyone in the world cleans their hands with water, very few use soap to wash them.
- Education on handwashing and access to soap in schools can help improve attendance.
- Globally, the rate of handwashing after using the toilet is estimated to be only 19%.
- Thorough handwashing early in life can help improve a child’s development in some settings.
Washing your hands prevents 30% of diarrheal diseases
Likewise, this simple act prevents cases of illness that would reduce the number of antibiotics that people use and the likelihood that resistance to these medications will develop. Likewise, it can prevent around 30% of diarrhea-related diseases and around 20% of respiratory infections. They are often prescribed completely unnecessarily for these health problems.