Doctors: Hand Washing Key To Flu Prevention

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Don’t forget to wash your hands. That’s the message this week from doctors this week as the winter weather has arrived and everyone starts getting the flu. Dr. Robert Jackson, with the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians, tells us soap and water are best for after using the bathroom or when hands are dirty. Other times, hand sanitizer is a good option.

“It’s not always possible to clean your hands. If you’re in a store, you get a shopping cart, you can’t cleanse the whole cart. You can’t cleanse everything you might touch in the store.”

It’s also a good idea to remind others to wash their hands, says Jackson, including health-care workers. According to the CDC, hand washing also can reduce the amount of antibiotics people use and the likelihood of antibiotic resistance.