“Stop Using Plain Water To Wash Your Hands After Defecation” (Unicef)

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday advised Nigerians to use soap, ash and running water to wash their hands after defecation to prevent infections and diseases.

Mr. Bioye Ogunjobi, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Specialist with UNICEF, made the statement during an interview with the Nigerian News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at Lagos.

Ogunjobi said using water alone is not a good handwashing technique because it does not fully clean the hands.

According to him, the feces are oily and cannot easily peel off after using tissue or water for cleaning after defecation.

“Washing your hands properly means using soap and running water. This is important because when you put water in a bowl to wash your hands, your hand will not be clean because the same dirty water is used. »

“In some rural communities they use ash, which is also a cleaning reagent. That works.

“That’s why it’s important that you use running water and soap after defecation because feces are oily. Even when you use tissue paper or water to clean it, it will still stick to your fingers and need to be squeezed out”

“Alone or normally, water can’t wash feces off your fingers. That’s why we try to promote good handwashing, which is using soap or ash and running water to wash your hands well,” he said.

Ogunjobi said lack of proper hand washing could cause various illnesses such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid and intestinal worm infections.

“People often touch their eyes, nose and mouth without even realizing it. Germs can enter the body through the eyes, nose and mouth and make us sick.

“Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death among children in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, and one study found that proper hand washing reduced diarrhea by around 48%. »

“Worm infestation is also common in children. If we practice good hygiene practices, such as washing our hands properly after defecation, many diseases will be prevented,” Ogunjobi said.

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