"One of the most powerful weapons against the new H1N1 virus is summed up in a three-word phrase you first heard from your mother: wash your hands."

There's been a lot of talk about the swine flu in the last year. One of the best things you can do to prevent yourself from getting it is to WASH YOUR HANDS!

If you think about how much you touch your face throughout the course of a day (usually when you aren't even aware that you're doing it) it's no wonder so many of us get sick! "Hand-to-face contact has a surprising impact on health. Germs can enter the body through breaks in the skin or through the eyes, mouth and nose." You especially don't want to be touching your eyes if you haven't washed your hands in a while, since your eyes are an especially easy place for viruses to get into your body.

"Hand-to-face contact appears to account for about one-third of the risk of flu infection." This means if you wash your hands, you can prevent the germs on your hands from getting into your body, which makes you 1/3 less likely to get the flu.

Who knew something as simple as hand washing could make such a big difference in getting the flu???

I'm going to go wash my hands now...