One of the important things crucial to stopping the infection spread in a hospital setting is hand hygiene.
Thus you can say that practicing hand hygiene is a simple and effective way to prevent infections.
Cleaning your hands can help to prevent the spread of germs including the ones that are resistant to antibiotics.
Moreover, it also helps to prevent the spread of the types that are becoming difficult, if not possible to treat.
On average, healthcare providers clean their hands less than half of the time they should.
On any given day, about one in 3 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection.
Therefore, it is extremely vital to prevent the spread of germs in the hospital setting, healthcare-related facilities, like dialysis centers, nursing homes, and general public spaces like gyms, shopping complexes, etc.
Keep on reading to learn more about hand hygiene and its importance.
Hand Hygiene: Brief History
In the 19 century, the concept of handwashing surfaced while taking care of patients.
According to the evidence by Labarraque, hand decontamination can significantly reduce the incidence of puerperal fever and maternity clinics.
In 1840, the Great Hospital in Vienna contained two maternity clinics.
The first one was taken care of by medical students who came directly in contact with the delivery suite from autopsy rooms.
And the average maternal mortality rate due to puerperal fever was about 10%.
On the other hand, the other clinic was attended by midwives and showed a significant reduction in maternal mortality, about 2% only.
According to the antiseptic procedure pioneer, Ignaz Phillip Semmelweis, this difference in both clinics is due to the policy of hand washing with chlorine lime.
Practicing this rule helps to reduce the rate of maternal mortality tenfold.
Moreover, according to researchers, direct contact is the made mode of transmission of Staphylococcus Aureus in nurseries, in 1950, during the Staphyloccal epidemic.
Implementing the rule that washing hands by contact with patients significantly helps to reduce the rate of infections in babies.
Furthermore, the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, HICPAC advocates the use of antimicrobial soap or waterless antiseptic agents.
This is for sanitizing hands after leaving the patient’s rooms that have infections with multiresistant pathogens.
Learn more about Disinfectant Machine here.
Healthcare Providers and Hand Hygiene
Accroding to a report, thousands of people across the world tend to die from infections that they acquire while receiving healthcare.
Hygiene is one of the easiest, nonetheless, important ways to reduce the spread of diseases and infections.
Moreover, it is especially important for healthcare professionals like nurses, doctors, and healthcare technicians, who come in direct contact with patients.
There are two types of microorganisms that colonize hands:
Common pathogens that are found in the hands of healthcare providers that can survive for more than 150 hours are:
- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA),
- vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE),
- MDR-Gram Negative bacteria (GRBs),
- Candida spp.,
- Clostridium difficle
Furthermore, the recent coronavirus disease, or COVID-19 pandemic, is due to a highly contagious severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus-2, SARS-CoV-2
Thus, the importance of handwashing and hand hygiene has been recognized across the globe.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC. you should focus on improving healthcare provider adherence to hand hygiene recommendations.
The goal is to address all the misconceptions about hand hygiene and empower patients to take an active role.
In most cases, healthcare providers need to clean their hands as many as a hundred times in a twelve hours shift.
This is based on the number of patients admitted and the intensity of care.
Learn more about Sterilization and Disinfection here.
Are Hand Sanitizers Effective?
Cleaning the hands by rubbing alcohol-based formulations is an effective hand sanitizing technique if the hands are not visibly soiled.
This method is faster and is better tolerant in comparison to washing hands with soap and water.
Moreover, alcohol-based hand sanitizers can help to kill most germs and are one of the most preferred methods of maintaining hand hygiene.
However, it is important to note that it fails to kill germs like Clostridioides difficile.
It is a bacterium that causes life-threatening diarrhea, which is one of the most common healthcare-associated infections.
Patients who have an infection by this bacterium must wash their hands with soap and water.
Furthermore, healthcare providers should always wear gloves while treating such patients.
But alcohol-based hand sanitizers are more effective and do not create antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
Thus, it is important to wash hands with soap and water when the hands are visibly contaminated with blood or other bodily fluids, and proteinaceous material.
Proper Hand Hygiene and Methods
One of the important things to note is that you should remove jewelry before washing your hands, preferably in warm running water.
You must lather with soap using friction and wash all hand surfaces and fingers thoroughly.
Moreover, experts recommend patting and drying the hand as frequent rubbing can crack the skin.
Also, alcohol is the preferred hand-sanitizing product.
It is effective against a number of microbes and is less irritating to the skin.
Recent studies indicate that interactive educational programs, along with free availability of hand disinfectants can significantly elevate hand hygiene compliance.
For instance, there was a significant enhancement in hand hygiene compliance in a Swedish Hospital.
The availability of pocket-carrying bottles of hand sanitizers helps to increase compliance.
Furthermore, the lack of handwashing facilities can be a major deterrent to the implementation of hand hygiene.
These include:
- installation of sinks
- running water
- sewage systems
Thereby, implementation of such measures and raising awareness among healthcare providers about hand hygiene is extremely important.
This will help to prevent the further spread of infection to patients.
Situations where Hand Hygiene is Important for Healthcare Personnel
Healthcare personnel should use an alcohol-based hand rub or wash with soap and water for the following clinical indications:
- immediately before touching a patient
- before performing an aseptic task like placing an indwelling device or handling invasive medical devices
- before moving from work on a soil body site to a clean site on the same patient
- after touching a patient or the immediate environment around the patients
- after contact with blood, body fluids, or contaminated surfaces. immediately after glove removal
What Healthcare Facilities can Do?
Healthcare facilities can:
- they need to make sure that healthcare personnel should perform hand hygiene in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, recommendations
- Make sure that all the healthcare personnel perform hand hygiene with soap and water when hands are visibly soil
- Make sure that the supplies that are important for adherence to hand hygiene are readily accessible in all areas where personnel deliver patients
Unless hands are soil visibly, an alcohol-based rub is most preferable over soap and water in most clinical situations.
This is because of the evidence of better compliance in comparison to soap and water.r
hand rubs tend to be generally less irritating to hands and in the absence of a sink, are an effective method of cleaning hands.
Hand Hygiene for Surgery
Follow the steps below for hand hygiene while performing surgery;
Remove rings, watches, and bracelets before beginning the surgical hand scrub, and make sure to remove the debris from underneath the fingernails.
For this, you can use a nail cleaner under running water.
While performing surgical hand antisepsis, you can use either an antimicrobial soap or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with persistent activity.
Make sure to do this before donning sterile gloves when performing surgical procedures.
When performing surgical hand antisepsis, use an antimicrobial soap, and scrub hands, and forearms for the length of time that manufacturers recommend.
This time is often about 2 to 6 minutes.
Moreover, long scrub times, for instance, 10 minutes, are not necessary.
However, while using an alcohol-based surgical hand-scrub product with persistent activity, make sure to follow the instruction of the manufacturer.
Before applying the alcohol solution, prewash your hands and forearms with a non-antimicrobial soap.
Then dry hands and forearms completely.
After the application of alcohol-based products, allow your hands and forearms to dry thoroughly before donning sterile gloves.
Moreover, many experts recommend double gloving during invasive procedures.
These can include surgeries that pose an increase in the threat or risk of blood exposure.
Bacteria in the hands of surgeons can cause wound infections if they introduce into the operative field during surgery.
Rapid multiplication of bacteria can take place under surgical gloves if surgeons do not wash hands with non-antimicrobial soap.
Additionally, bacterial growth can slow after preoperative scrubbing with an antiseptic agent.
reducing resident skin flora on the hands of the surgical team for the duration of a procedure can help reduce the risk of bacteria.
This occurs when it releases into the surgical field if there is a puncture or tear during the surgery.
Final Thoughts
Hand hygiene is one of the most crucial parts of preventing the spread of infection and diseases in a hospital setting. It means cleaning your hands by either handwashing, i.e. washing hands with soap and water, antiseptic hand wash, antiseptic hand rub, i.e. alcohol-based hand sanitizer, or surgical hand antisepsis.
Comments