2006-10-09 16:04:24 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Other - Health
This is off of WebMD:
Proper hand-washing
Use warm or hot water when possible. Cold water is not as effective for killing bacteria on your hands.
Wet your hands and wrists completely under the running water.
Apply a small dab of liquid soap. If you use bar soap, you rinse it off before you use it.
Work up a good lather and wash all of the surfaces of your skin, including the wrist, palms, backs of your hands, fingers, and fingernails. Wash your hands for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
Rinse your hands thoroughly.
Dry your hands. Use your paper towel to turn off the water after you have finished.
If soap and water are not available, use gel hand sanitizers or alcohol-based hand wipes. Most supermarkets and drugstores carry these products. Carry one or both with you when you travel, and keep them in your car or purse.
If using the gel sanitizer, rub your hands until the gel is dry. You don't need to use water; the alcohol in the gel kills the germs on your hands.
All being said, warm water, and soap. Most of the bacteria is physically washed away by the friction and lathering. The soap has some effect usually the ph is basic if I recall and that kills some of the bacteria. Some more are killed by the warmth of the water, but the ones that normally live on your skin your normal flora stay stuck even with soap and water. But then again its the pathological ones that you want to get anyway. The key is lathering for at least 20 seconds. According to a doc that Oprah had on, long enough to sing Happy Birthday to You!
I guess she's right. Wash your hands right so that you can have more birthdays.
2006-10-09 16:17:37 · answer #1 · answered by rainydayblues1 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are germs on EVERYTHING. Even the healthiest food you eat has germs. It's a question of how many and what are they doing. Germs become dangerous when their populations rise to uncontrolled levels.
Most microorganisms have a specific temperature range in which they can grow and function.
Heat kills almost everything, provided you get it hot enough. Generally, to be thorough, you'd need to boil things to kill germs. That's why you should wash with antibacterial soap, because you can't boil your hands.
Cold slows down, or even stops the growth and function of germs. So, if you freeze a piece of meat with a trace amount of a pathogenic organism (like every other piece of meat), the amount will remain small and harmless.
The same piece of meat in a warm room would cause the germs to multiply and become dangerous.
So refrigerating stops growth, while heating reduces actual germ populations.
2006-10-09 16:14:23 · answer #2 · answered by Privratnik 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unless extremely low, low temperature generally inhibits the growth and livelihood of germs instead of killing them. Likewise, unless very hot (e.g. boiling water), warm water typically would not kill germs per se.
We wash our hands with warm water not with the intention of killing germs, but rather to work better with soap to dissolve more dirts and thus wash off bateria and germs from our skin.
Hope this helps.
2006-10-09 16:09:52 · answer #3 · answered by boyjackie 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Coldness doesn't kill germs, cooold kills germs. That's why we freeze food. Warm water breaks up dirt and grease better than cold water, that's why we wash with warm water.
2006-10-09 16:10:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The temperature that we consider cold may stunt germs a little but that only really serves to slow and preserve them. They respond to heat with a higher mortality rate -- not to mention that warm water opens your pores while the soap cleanses them, so it's more effective, and it feels a lot better.
2006-10-09 16:13:30 · answer #5 · answered by Em 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
OK, we know that extreme cold kills germs, so does extreme heat.
Warm water opens our pores and lets the soap in and dissolves dirt and scum and grease and other filth. That's why warm water makes you feel better and cleaner.
2006-10-09 16:18:19 · answer #6 · answered by renaissance man 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It has to be extremely cold in order to kill the germs and besides you really don't have to clean with warm water, they just tell you that. anyone know why?
2006-10-09 16:12:19 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Cold water doesn't kill germs. However using cold water can lower your body temperature which can inhibit the immune systems ability to combat disease and germs.
2006-10-09 16:13:15 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
I don't know where you get your information from but microorganisms can live in tempertures well below that of a refrigerator. So, unless you are going to clean your house, and wash your hands with frozen liquid nitrogen the standard will remain heat.
2006-10-09 16:08:37 · answer #9 · answered by jjuneified 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I just don't feel like my hands are clean if I use cold water, even if I do use soap. I also don't like to wash my hands in cold water. Brrrrrrr.
2006-10-09 16:06:53 · answer #10 · answered by sweet.pjs1 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋