Effective hand hygiene with our hand washing recommendations
It is common consensus that good hand hygiene practice is the most powerful tool in fighting Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAI).
“Hand washing is the single most important means of preventing the spread of infection” – Centre of Disease Control
Poorly washed hands can transfer harmful bacteria from your hands to your colleagues and customers. The Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates one in three people do not wash their hands after using the toilet. Risky behaviour like this can spread severe illnesses because good hand hygiene removes dirt and contaminants and dirt contains bacteria and harmful substances. Cleaning your hands prevents the contraction of illness and in some circumstances can save lives. Furthermore clean hands are socially acceptable as they look and smell good.
To find out how to wash your hands properly please download the PDF.
How you wash you hands is very important. You should wash your hands thoroughly for 30 seconds. To enable you to do this the facilities should be clean, clutter free and fully stocked. The temperature of the water should be between 20°C and 35°C to make hand washing comfortable.
Drying your hands fully is just as important as washing them properly. This is because 85 % of micro-organisms are transmitted by moist hands, whereas for dry hands this is reduced to only 0.06%. Wet hands will pick up
contaminants easily and can develop skin irritation.
The best way to dry your hands is with a paper towel which can then be placed in a touch free bin. Reused fabric towels are an ideal substrate for growth of micro organisms recontaminating hands immediately after washing.
Hot air dryers can also cause issues if they lift bacteria from the environment and circulate them onto clean hands. Hot air drying is also time consuming so people tend to finish drying hands on their clothes, toilet paper etc.
The WHO Five Moments
For healthcare professionals the World Health Organisation have issued guidance on the 5 critical moments at which you should wash your hands:
1) BEFORE PATIENT CONTACT
WHEN? Clean your hands before touching a patient and when approaching him or her
WHY? To protect the patient against harmful germs carried on your hands
2) BEFORE AN ASEPTIC TASK
WHEN? Clean your hands immediately before any aseptic task
WHY? To protect the patient against harmful germs, including the patient’s own germs, entering his or her body
3) AFTER BODY FLUID EXPOSURE RISK
WHEN? Clean your hands immediately after an exposure risk to body fluids (and after glove removal)
WHY? To protect yourself and the health-care environment from harmful patient germs
4) AFTER PATIENT CONTACT
WHEN? Clean your hands after touching a patient and his or her immediate surroundings when leaving
WHY? To protect yourself and the health-care environment from harmful patient germs
5) AFTER CONTACT WITH PATIENT SURROUNDINGS
WHEN? Clean your hands after touching any object or furniture in the patient’s immediate surroundings, when leaving - even without touching the patient
WHY? To protect yourself and the health-care environment from harmful patient germs
For further information on Infection Prevention please click below for links to the CDC and WHO.
World Health Organisation
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention