Don't Touch These Four Body Parts without Washing Your Hands

We often do it without noticing it, but we should avoid touching certain body parts without washing our hands. This can transfer bacteria.

Reviewed and approved by the doctor Maricela Jiménez López.

Written by Okairy Zuñiga

Last update: 15 December, 2022

During your childhood, your mother probably went to great lengths to train you in personal cleanliness. This most likely included washing your hands. This is because, during the day, we go around touching all kinds of things and body parts that are full of bacteria.

If you don’t have good hygiene, bacteria accumulate on your hands and can easily compromise your health if you’re not careful.

What are the body parts that you shouldn’t touch with dirty hands? What happens if you do? We discuss that in this article.

Why is it important to wash your hands?

October 15 has been declared Global Handwashing Day by UNICEF. This initiative had the goal of raising awareness about the importance of hand washing. In addition, the organization emphasized that many diseases are transmitted by touching some body parts.

Maybe you think you have the best hygiene and don’t run any risks because you’re not in contact with toxic products. However, you should ask yourself if everything you touch is actually clean.

If you use the computer every day, then you may be passing germs between the keys, the screen, and your mouth. Don’t think that there’s no problem because your office is “clean”. All types of germs are transmitted through the air and this is something you can’t control.

Body parts you should avoid touching

1. The eyes

Our sight is a very important sense. For that reason, it can be very annoying when we have an eye infection.

Everyone rubs their eyes and removes eyelashes with their hands. Nevertheless, touching our eyes with dirty hands can cause serious infections. Most of the time, we touch our eyes without even noticing we’re doing it.

Here are some recommendations you should always follow:

• Wash your hands before touching your eyes.
• Use a tissue or paper towel if you need to dry tears or remove an eyelash.
• Avoid introducing any type of foreign object in your eyes.

Caring for contact lenses

• You should never touch your eyes directly with your hands unless you’ve washed them with neutral soap and water.
• It’s recommended that you learn to remove contact lenses very carefully. Ask an ophthalmologist to teach you the correct way to put them in and take them out.
• Don0t rub your eyes for any reason, as they’re very sensitive and can easily be harmed.

Many people come home from an exhausting day at work and feel so tired that they want to take their contacts out. You should always wash your hands before doing it! This is important because the liquid we use in our contact cases doesn’t eliminate all of the germs, only the superficial ones.

When you wash your hands to take out the contacts, remember to use a neutral bar of soap and warm water. Liquid soaps tend to leave chemical films. This can leave a residue on your contacts. With time, this residue accumulates and the contacts won’t last as long as they should.

2. Private parts

Your intimate parts are very private and, before touching them, you should ensure that your hands are clean.

Touching these body parts with dirty hands can cause all types of infections. This area is already damp and has its own ecosystem. Contact with other bacteria can cause serious problems.

A very common mistake women make is to try to wash this area with soap, water, and douches. We recommend keeping the use of soap and water to a minimum and not douching at all.

3. The ears

One of the body parts you should never touch (or scratch) with your hands is the inside of your ears. This can cause lesions. Also, they can get infected with time.

First of all, remember that the ears contain wax, which keeps bacteria out. You shouldn’t try to eliminate all of the wax inside your ears. If you feel that you have too much earwax, consult with an otorhinolaryngologist, a physician who specializes in that area. They’ll help you eliminate excess wax.

4. The face

Avoid touching your face. We know that this is something that people almost always do involuntarily, but try to learn to avoid it as much as possible.

There are several reasons for this. When you touch your face, you carry residue from your hands to your face.

If you have poor hygiene, your pores can clog up. This causes pimples and red blotches on the skin.

The only time you should touch your face is when you’re washing it and after you’ve washed your hands.

As you can see, touching different body parts with dirty hands can cause problems. Take note and avoid doing this as much as possible.