13 Mar Friday Fast Facts – Hand Hygiene
What you may not know:
- Harmful bacteria and pathogens may be present under fingernails
- Repeated hand washing with hot water may lead to dermatitis or skin breakdown resulting in susceptibility to infection or bacteria growth
- Wearing jewelry may limit your ability to remove harmful bacteria and jewelry may carry additional bacteria
- Wearing gloves is not the same as washing your hands, and gloves can break
- If your hands are visibly dirty, hand sanitizer is not enough
- Out-of-sight, out-of-mind – If hand washing stations or sanitizing products are not visible and accessible people are less likely to use them
What you can do:
- Keep your fingernails short and scrub beneath them
- Use water between 70° and 80°F
- Moisturize hands with simple and compatible moisturizing lotions
- Do not wear jewelry when washing hands or interacting with patients
- Do not use gloves as a replacement for hand washing
- Wash your hands if they are visibly dirty, do not just sanitize
- Keep sanitizer and washing stations prominent and visible to increase utilization
When:
- Before interacting with a patient
- After interacting with a patient
- After being in contact with patient surroundings
- After blood or bodily fluid exposure
- Before a sterile task
- If hands are visibly dirty
- After a trip to the bathroom
- Before eating
- After eating
It is up to healthcare leaders, professionals, doctors, nurses, patients, visitors, and everyone in between to keep their hands clean. Clean hands are safe hands.
Remember, 80% of infectious disease are transmitted by touch. We could potentially reduce the number of Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) by 50%, just by following good hand hygiene practices.
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