Hand washing is a popular solution to many fall and winter ailments: colds, flu, pneumonia, and more. Even against the bird flu, if it should ever come your way.

Hand washing, when done correctly, is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Here's the right way to wash your hands:

• Wet your hands with warm running water, add soap, then rub your hands together for at least 10 seconds, away from the water.
  
  
• Lather the fronts and backs of your hands, and wash between the fingers and under the nails.
  
  
• To help with your timing, sing the A-B-C song all the way through to Z, or sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice, while scrubbing your hands.
  
  
• Rinse well under running water - not in a basin.
  
  
• Dry your hands thoroughly with a clean towel or use a disposable towel.
  
  

Teach your children the correct hand-washing technique, and encourage others to wash their hands well - especially people who care for children or the sick, and those who prepare food. Remind them that wearing gloves does not take away the need for hand-washing.

If no soap is available, an antibacterial sanitizer will do. When rubbed into the hands for 15-30 seconds, most hand sanitizers kill virtually all germs.


Wash your hands often, especially when:

• Preparing or eating food
  
  
• Treating a cut or wound
  
  
• Tending to someone who's sick
  
  
• Inserting or removing contact lenses
  
  
• Using the bathroom
  
  
• Blowing your nose
  
  
• Coughing or sneezing
  
  
• Handling garbage
  
  
• Changing a diaper
  
  
• Touching an animal
  
  

Despite all your hand washing, you might still get sick occasionally. So, when cold or flu symptoms first appear, consider taking black elderberry, an important long-time remedy for cold and flu - preferably black elderberry that has been processed to remove any unwanted toxins. Black elderberry eases symptoms and shortens the duration of the flu by improving the action of your immune system. Studies in Israel warrant its claims.*


Influenza - the flu - is similar to a bad cold, but it's much more serious. The flu usually comes on suddenly, with symptoms like high fever, headache, fatigue, dry cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, and body aches. Some symptoms may be severe and last from a few days to several weeks. Every year between 35 and 50 million Americans get the flu, and more than 20,000 of them die.

The flu virus enters through your nose, throat, or lungs from the air or from touching a contaminated surface and then touching your nose or mouth. Once in your body, the virus begins to multiply, usually causing symptoms within a day or two.

The flu virus becomes contagious a day before you feel sick, which is how you unsuspectingly can pass it on to others. Adults can continue to infect others for several more days after symptoms start. Children, on the other hand, can pass the virus on for more than a week.


And then there's pneumonia, which kills one in 20 adults who get the disease. It's especially dangerous if you have a chronic condition and a weakened immune system. A pneumonia shot - needed once for lifetime protection - is about 60 percent effect in preventing pneumonia and other complications.

So, to stay healthy, wash your hands properly and often!