We ALL know it’s important to wash our hands for 20 seconds, but did you know that the quality of your washing is as important as the quantity? The CDC recommends that you thoroughly wash all four hand surfaces: palms, backs, between fingers, and under nails.
To help you remember to wash your hands thoroughly, I choreographed a fun sequence of hand movements to the tune of Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off!” If you follow this sequence, you will wash your hands for just over 20 seconds. This is super important to me as I take immunosuppressant medication for my autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis!
The sequence is:
- Palms (“Players gonna play…”)
- Backs of hands: left hand (“Haters gonna hate…”), right hand (“I’m just gonna shake…”)
- Between fingers (“Shake it off…”)
- Nails: right hand (“Heart breakers gonna break…”), Left hand (“Fakers gonna fake…”
- All together (“I’m just gonna shake…”)
- Optional: continue dancing while rinsing and during the rest of the song!
This video was created by Cheryl Crow, occupational therapist and rheumatoid arthritis patient, founder of Arthritis Life. Arthritis Life’s mission is to educate, empower and inspire people with arthritis so they can live life to the fullest extent possible. My vision is a world where every patient is empowered to participate in meaningful daily activities with more confidence and less overwhelm.
Don’t forget to also check out Cheryl’s free download: “Six Things I Wish I had Known when I was Diagnosed with arthritis.”
References: CDC guidelines for hand washing
