Give Yourself a Hand Up Against Sickness Season
News
Give Yourself a Hand Up Against Sickness Season (posted December 3, 2025)

By Adam Behnke, Communications Specialist for Brown County Public Health

The biggest risk to your respiratory health is a part of your own body. In fact, some even say they are the ten most dangerous weapons we know of. They are the fingers on your hands, and they do a splendid job of getting you sick. This is because our hands pick up germs while interacting with the world around us. Germs on our skin are not very harmful, but they become a problem when we touch a part of our face and let those germs inside our bodies. 

The best defense against germs is washing our hands. Doing so the right way at the right times will go a long way toward stopping the spread of sickness—to yourself and to others. This edition of the Healthy Herald will teach you the 4 Principles of Hand Awareness and the best way to wash your hands. 

Henry the Hand 
In 2001, Dr. William Sawyer founded the Henry the Hand Foundation. Its mission is simple: to train children and adults in effective hand hygiene behaviors that prevent illness. To that end, the foundation developed the 4 Principles of Hand Awareness. The American Medical Association and American Academy of Family Physicians endorse these principles. They reinforce hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, and cross-contamination awareness in an uncomplicated way: 

The 4 Principles of Hand Awareness 
  1. Wash your hands when they are dirty and before eating. 
  2. DO NOT cough into your hands. 
  3. DO NOT sneeze into your hands. 
  4. Above all, DO NOT put your fingers in your eyes, nose, or mouth. 
The foundation puts emphasis on the fourth principle by referring to the eyes, nose, and mouth as the 'T Zone.' By making a conscious effort to avoid touching the T Zone, a person is preventing viruses and bacteria from getting inside their body. Dr. Sawyer says the only way to contract COVID-19, the flu, and many upper respiratory infections is through the eyes, nose, and mouth. People are making themselves sick because the average person touches their face between 15 and 23 times every hour! 

Read more from the Henry the Hand Foundation here.


When to Wash Your Hands 
You should wash your hands often to stay healthy and help protect your loved ones from getting sick. Health experts say to focus on hand hygiene when you eat food and when you know your hands are dirty.  

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services suggests washing your hands at these key times: 
  • Before, during, and after preparing food 
  • Before and after eating 
  • After touching garbage 
  • After using the restroom 
  • After blowing your nose, coughing, and sneezing 
  • After changing diapers or helping a child use the toilet 
  • Before and after caring for someone who is sick 
  • Before and after treating a wound 
  • After touching animals, animal feed, and animal waste 
  • If your hands are visibly dirty 
How to Wash Your Hands 
It’s pretty easy to learn the right way to wash your hands. Using proper technique all the time will reduce the spread of germs, and you will get sick less often! 

The Wisconsin DHS lays out washing with soap and water in the following steps: 
  1. Wet your hands with warm running water. 
  2. Add soap, then rub your hands together. Do this away from the running water for at least 20 seconds, being careful not to wash the lather away. Wash the front and back of your hands, as well as between your fingers and under your nails. 
  3. Rinse your hands well under running water. 
  4. Dry your hands thoroughly with a clean towel. 



The Benefits of Hand Sanitizer 
While using soap and water is the best way to wash your hands, you won’t always have access to them. Using hand sanitizer when soap and water are unavailable is an effective alternative. Keep in mind, though, that sanitizer kills certain germs, while soap and water work to remove all types of germs from your skin. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers these tips: 
  1. Apply the gel product to the palm of one hand (read the label to learn the correct amount). 
  2. Cover all surfaces of hands. 
  3. Rub your hands and fingers together until they are dry. This should take around 20 seconds. 

The sanitizer should contain at least 60% alcohol. Use enough to cover both hands every time you apply it. Don’t rinse or wipe off the sanitizer before it’s dry. Don’t use sanitizer if your hands have visible dirt or grease. Find some soap and water to use instead in those situations. 


Final Thoughts 
The holiday season is also, unfortunately, sickness season for Northeast Wisconsin. Family gatherings bring people together, and the colder weather means we all spend more time indoors and closer to each other’s germs. Our secret weapon is to wash our hands a lot and make a conscious effort to not touch our faces. Keeping our hands away from our 'T Zone' (eyes, nose, and mouth) helps keep viruses and bacteria away from our vulnerable insides. Brown County Public Health wishes you and yours a great year's end, sans sickness! 


Stay Healthy, Brown County! 

Resources 
https://henrythehand.com/ 
https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/about/index.html 
https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/disease/handwashing.htm 
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/hand-washing/art-20046253 
https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/about/hand-sanitizer.html