Health - Hygiene
Hand Hygiene & Respiratory Hygiene:
Coming back to school you may have noticed some changes around the school.
Particularly, regarding Hand Hygiene and Respiratory Hygiene.
What is Hand Hygiene?
Hand Hygiene is simply washing and cleaning our hands. Hand Hygiene can be completed by washing our hands with soap and water for 60 seconds. Alternatively, if our hands are not visibly soiled or dirty, we can use hand sanitizer, which you rub into your hands for 30 seconds.
Why do we do it?
It is particularly important at present, for our community to practice regular hand hygiene as viruses such as a cold, the flu and COVID-19 spread from person to person through droplet transmission. Droplets are small pieces of saliva which are produced when a person coughs or sneezes. By regularly applying hand sanitizer or washing our hands correctly we decrease the risk of contracting or spreading a virus.
If you would like more information on how to do an effective Handwash or use hand sanitizer/hand rub, please see the below videos:
Handrub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnSjFr6J9HI
Handwash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PmVJQUCm4E
At GSSC you will notice in each room there will be sanitiser available. It is expected that students on arrival and departure from a room will use sanitiser and the handrub method. Please also ensure that you use soap to wash your hands after using the toilet.
What is Respiratory Hygiene?
Respiratory Hygiene is covering your mouth and nose when you cough and/or sneeze with either:
A tissue that you put in the bin straight after use
Or into your bent elbow
Why is it so important?
Respiratory hygiene is important because droplets spread virus. By following good respiratory hygiene, you catch any droplets that might be produced, and this protects the people around you from viruses such as the cold virus, flu virus and COVID -19 virus.
Remember:
To wash your hands with soap, or use hand sanitiser after coughing or sneezing.
For more information regarding Respiratory and Hand Hygiene please see:
Adolescent Health Nurse Team
Raelene Wilson
Mark Metcalf
Steve Forrester