After coughing or sneezing, always be sure to ______.

• A. Wear gloves
• B. Use sanitizer
• C. Clean hands
• D. Rinse with cold water

Answer: (A)

After coughing or sneezing, cleaning your hands is essential to stop the spread of germs to clients and tools. Washing with soap and warm running water and rubbing hands for at least about 20 seconds is the most reliable method to remove microbes. If water isn’t available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol is a good alternative. Wearing gloves is not a substitute for hand hygiene; gloves can be contaminated, torn, or recontaminate hands when removed, so hands should be cleaned before putting on gloves and after removing them. Rinsing with cold water alone doesn’t effectively remove germs, and sanitizer alone isn’t a complete substitute when hands are visibly dirty or after coughing or sneezing.