When I went to the Minnesota state fair recently I attended a great demonstration about how important thorough hand washing is, especially during the season of H1N1 influenza. They squirted some gel on our hands which we rubbed around like hand lotion (this simulated bacteria/viruses). After we washed our hands , we went into a darkened booth fitted with a black light; it showed all the places we missed getting clean. So here’s what I learned: Make sure you use hot water and plenty of soap. Scrub thoroughly around your nail beds, between fingers and up your arms. While you do, sing the tune “happy birthday to you” twice through. You’re hands aren’t clean until the song is through (after 20 seconds). This really did work…my hands showed no signs of ‘ viruses” after I used this method.