Why does washing your hands stop germs in their tracks?
Your hands are like a busy airport terminal all day long. Germs — tiny living things too small to see — hitch rides on everything you touch: doorknobs, railings, your friend's pencil, the family dog. By lunchtime, thousands of these microscopic passengers are camped out on your skin, waiting for their chance to sneak inside your body through your mouth, nose, or eyes.
Here's the thing about germs: most of them are harmless tagalongs, just passing through. But some are troublemakers — bacteria and viruses that can make you sick. A cold virus might be waiting on that pencil you borrowed. Food poisoning bacteria might be camping on the raw chicken juice you touched while helping cook dinner. They're patient. They'll wait all day for you to rub your eye or grab a sandwich.
