Transcript Hand Washing

Hand Washing
By Shauna O’Sullivan
Hand Washing
• Single most effective way to break the chain of
infection
Joseph Lister
• British surgeon
• Made link between lack
of cleanliness in
hospitals and deaths
after operations
• Pioneer of antiseptic
surgery
• Listerine mouthwash
and Listeria named
after him
Why is cleaning your hands important?
• Bacteria that cause hospital acquired infections
– Frequently spread from one patient to another by
healthcare workers
• Cleaning your hands before and after contact with
patients
– Important measure in preventing the spread of bacteria
Does handwashing reduce the spread of
bacteria?
• Yes !!!!!
– Studies have shown that washing your hands between
patients reduces the spread of germs in the hospital
Many personnel don’t realize when
they have germs on their hands
• We can get 100’s of different types of germs on our
hands by doing simple tasks:
– Taking a blood pressure or pulse
– Touching a patient’s hand
– Rolling patients over in bed
– Touching the patients gown or sheets
– Touching equipment like bedside rails, over-bed tables, IV
pumps
Sample of germs from a nurses hand
• Culture plate showing
growth of germs
– This growth occurred 24
hours after a nurse
placed her hand on the
plate
Patients often carry resistant germs on
their skin
• Patients with resistant germs like methicillin-resistant
S. aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant
enterococci (VRE)
– Often carry the germ on many areas of their skin,
even when they don’t have any wounds or broken
skin
Hand Washing
• Purpose: To remove dirt, organic material, and
transient bacteria on your hands
When do you wash your hands?
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When hands are visibly soiled
Before and after contact with a patient
Before and after touching wounds
After contact with mucus membranes, blood, body
fluids, secretions, or excretions
• After handling objects that are likely soiled
(stethoscopes)
• After removing gloves
• Before and after using the restroom
How to Wash Hands
• When washing hands with plain or anti-microbial
soap:
– Wet hands first with water (avoid HOT water)
– Apply a nickel or quarter-sized amount of soap to
hands
– Rub hands together for at least 15 seconds
– Cover all surfaces of the hands and fingers
– Rinse hands with water and dry thoroughly
– Use paper towel to turn off water faucet
Alcohol based Handrubs
• CDC guidelines recommend:
– Healthcare workers use an alcohol-based handrub
(a gel, rinse or foam) to routinely clean their
hands between patient contacts, as long as hands
are not dirty
Alcohol-based Handrubs Advantages
• Requires ~ 15 seconds of time
• Handrubs can be placed in convenient locations,
making the product readily accessible
• So, one of the advantages of using alcohol handrubs
is that they require much less time to use
How to Use an Alcohol-based Handrub
• Apply nickel or quarter-sized amount of an alcohol gel or rinse
to the palm of one hand, and rub hands together
• Cover all surfaces of your hands and fingers include areas
around/under fingernails
• Continue rubbing hands together until alcohol dries
• If you have applied a sufficient amount of alcohol hand-rub, it
should take at least 10 -15 seconds of rubbing before your
hands feel dry
Any Questions??