Hands in my pocket
Hands on my face
Hands in my wallet
Hands on my phone case
Hands on my heart
Hands on my hair
Hands apart
Hands in the air
Hands together.

Our hands are everywhere! But it seems that in the age of Covid-19, our hands should be locked away.
Provincial Public Health recommends that we wash our hands as often as we can… Well, that should always be the case, but it seems that we are now paying more attention to hand hygiene.

We’ve all seen the famous 30 seconds hand washing charts. We are now memorizing them and singing happy birthday while scrubbing our hands with soap & water or rubbing them with an alcohol based-sanitizer. Handwashing is one of the BEST ways to protect yourself and others from getting sick.
As much as soap/water and hand sanitizers are purposefully stripping away bacteria, fungi and viruses, your hands are being exposed to harsh chemicals as they are dipped in foaming alkaline soaps or rubbed with sanitizers that contain at least 70% alcohol. These products remove your skin’s natural oils.

Is the skin on your hands becoming more tight? Have you noticed your hands becoming dry with cracks? Are those skin cracks burning or bleeding? If so, then you have an open portal to “germ-village”. That’s right; germs can easily enter our body through an open skin sore, and not just our respiratory tract. We don’t think of our skin as an organ, but our skin is the largest organ on our body and acts as a protective barrier to microorganisms. Yes, our skin plays a very dynamic role in our immune system.
NOW WAIT A MINUTE! I didn’t say to stop washing your hands. Instead, I am recommending one easy tip on how to reduce your chances of having painful and irritating skin dryness on your hands:
MOISTURISE! That’s right, moiturising is vital for healthy skin.

In my previous “Self-care | Skin Care” blog, I mentioned that the key step to NOT skip in our skin care regimen is to moisturise. We focus a lot on our face when it comes to skin care routines but our hands aren’t any different, in fact, they need a lot of care. After multiple hand washing sessions per day, pat your hands dry and apply a good moisturising cream or lotion to them. This will hydrate your skin and prevent your hands from having microscopic skin tears, cracks and wounds that will make you susceptible to infections and illnesses.
Ever wonder what to do with those 15 hand cream stocking stuffers you’ve received last Christmas? It’s now the time to put them to good use. Place small bottles of hand moisturisers everywhere around the house: next to your toothbrush, on your night table, near the kitchen sink, in your purse, etc. Never skip the moisturiser.
Washing our hands saves lives. Washing our hands keeps us healthy. Let’s protect ourselves but let’s not forget to protect our hands! Stay Safe.

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