Keeping Clean

1Germs: the tiny things you cannot see

Look at your hand. It looks clean, doesn’t it?

But on your hand there are germs. Germs are living things so tiny that your eyes cannot see them. Hundreds of them can sit on one fingertip. Some germs make you sick.

Germs love dirty places: the toilet, rubbish, dirty water, the ground, and the noses of people with a cold.

2How germs made Gatete sick

Let us follow the germs, step by step.

1. Gatete touched the dusty ground. Germs moved onto his hand.
2. He picked up his bread with that hand. Germs moved onto the bread.
3. He ate the bread. Germs went into his mouth.
4. The germs went down into his stomach. They made him sick.

Now you can see the rule: germs travel on hands. Hands touch dirt. Hands touch food. Food goes into your mouth. So the best place to stop germs is on your hands.

3Washing your hands the right way

1. Wet your hands with clean water.
2. Soap them well.
3. Scrub — palms, backs, between your fingers, under your nails.
4. Rinse the soap off with clean water.
5. Dry your hands in the air or on a clean cloth.

Scrub slowly. Count to 20 while you scrub. Fast washing leaves germs behind.

4When must you wash your hands?

• Before you eat or touch food.
• After you use the toilet.
• After you play outside or touch animals.
• After you cough, sneeze or blow your nose.

5Keeping the rest of you clean

Wash your body with soap and water every day. Sweat and dust sit on your skin all day, and washing takes them off.

Put on clean clothes. Cut your nails short — germs hide under long nails. Comb your hair.

6Your teeth

Brush your teeth two times a day: in the morning, and again before you sleep.

Here is why. When Keza eats a sweet, a little sugar stays on her teeth. Germs in her mouth eat that sugar. They make an acid that eats a tiny hole in her tooth. The hole grows. Then the tooth hurts.

Brushing takes the sugar and the germs off before they can dig. Brush the front, the back and the top of every tooth. Take your time — count to 100.

And when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth with your elbow, not your hand. Your elbow does not touch food!

Try it yourself

Think about each one, then check your answer below.

1. Habimana has just come out of the toilet. He is hungry. What must he do before he eats?
2. Why is washing with soap better than washing with only water?
3. Uwase says, “My hands look clean, so they are clean.” Is she right?
4. How many times a day should you brush your teeth?
5. Byiringiro feels a sneeze coming. What should he do?

Answers

1. He must wash his hands with soap and clean water. Toilets are full of germs, and germs travel on hands into food.
2. Water alone only pushes germs around. Soap lifts the germs off your skin so the water can carry them away.
3. No. Germs are far too small to see. Hands can look clean and still be covered in germs.
4. 2 times — in the morning and before you go to sleep.
5. He should cover his mouth and nose with his elbow. That keeps his germs from flying onto other people or onto food.