Handwashing still best to prevent viral disease, says  Community nurse

A community health nurse, Mrs Toyosi Ogunkunle, says handwashing with soap and water, is still the best method of  hygiene  to minimise the chances of spreading and contracting viral illnesses such as  gastroenteritis.

Ogunkunle said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Ibadan.

According to her, while hand sanitiser can guard against some viral illnesses, using it alone may not be sufficiently effective against disease such as  gastroenteritis.

“Gastroenteritis is a very common condition that causes diarrhoea and vomiting. While it is mostly common in children,  it affects people of all ages.””

She listed the main symptoms of gastroenteritis  to include sudden stooling and vomiting

”Others are: abdominal pain, loss of appetite and fever,” she said.

According to her,  gastroenteritis is caused by touching contaminated surfaces or objects, eating contaminated food and not washing hands after visiting the toilet.

“Hand washing is the hallmark of preventing viral infections like gastroenteritis.

“Hand sanitiser cannot remove the build-up of germs from the hands and is not enough to prevent a viral disease like gastroenteritis.

“The virus that causes  gastroenteritis comes from faeces, which find its  way into the mouth through unwashed hands.

“This means that if germs that are picked up after using the restroom are not washed off, they can be spread and then cause serious illness like gastroenteritis,” she said.