Good hygiene has been on the forefronts of everyone’s minds for the past few weeks amid the coronavirus breakout.
In the midst of all of the precautions, Kristen Bell is using her platform to help shed light on one of the simplest preventative methods: hand-washing.
Bell shared a collage of blacklight photos on her Instagram feed earlier this week that shows the impact that thorough hand-washing can have.
The "Good Place" actress said the six images show the difference between washing with no soap, washing briefly with soap, and washing for thirty seconds with soap. Bell said her mom sent her the pics.
“My mom sent me the hand washing black light comparison,” she captioned the photo. “30 SECONDS WITH SOAP YALL!!!”
The photo sparked some feedback in the comments, all agreeing with Bell's sentiment.
“My Dad told us as kids: ‘if you don’t use soap, you’re just giving the germs a drink!’😂 #DadWisdom,” one fan wrote.
A fellow mom wrote, “I get crap all the time for being a strict mom making my kids go straight to our mudroom bathroom to wash their hands as soon as we get home from places- I do the same! THIS IS WHY!!!”
“And now I am going to wash my hands with a 30 second timer lol,” another commenter added.
Proper hand-washing is a precaution that can help prevent various diseases beyond the coronavirus, second to receiving a vaccine. It can reduce your chances of contracting a respiratory illness by 54%, according to a study published by the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Experts recommend washing your hands for a full 20 seconds to clean off any bacteria. For children, 20 seconds roughly covers singing “Happy Birthday” two times, or the alphabet song. And use a paper towel or hand dryer to dry your hands, as wet hands can allow germs to flourish.