2. Objectives
By the end of this lesson /topic you will be able to:
Identify who should practice hand hygiene?
Describe what hand hygiene is?
Identify where hand hygiene practice should
take place?
Explain why hand hygiene is important?
Describe when hand hygiene is to be performed?
Describe how to perform hand hygiene using
various steps?
4. Introduction
Hand washing is the single most effective way to
prevent the spread of germs/micro-organism
which prevent communicable diseases.It’s easy
to learn how to wash your hands and how to stop
the spread of infection by washing the germs
away. Good hand washing can prevent diseases
such as: Shigellosis,E. Coli, Streptococcal
Disease, Influenza and the Common Cold.
We can pick-up germs from doorknobs, stair railings
or anything that has been touched by others who
aren’t good hand washers
5. Definition of hand washing
Hand washing or hand hygiene is the act of
cleaning one's hands with or without the use of
water or another liquid, or with the use of soap
for the purpose of removing soil, dirt, and/or
micro organisms.
6. Importance of hand hygiene practice
Hand hygiene practicing is not important only for
health care Providers, everyone needs to practicing
appropriate & effective hand hygiene to prevent
spread of micro organisms.
7. Indications for Hand washing
• With soap and water
1. Visibly dirty
2. Contaminated with
proteinaceous material, blood
3. Body fluids
4. After using rest room
5. Before and after having food
8. You should perform hand
hygiene
1. Busy health care providers need access to hand
hygiene products where patient or patient
environment contact is taking place.
2. Hand hygiene is important in all work settings,
including Acute Care, Long Term Care Facilities,
Community and Corporate sites.
3. Providing alcohol-based hand rub at the point
of care (within arm’s reach) is an important
system support to improve hand hygiene
9. We need to learn about Hand
Hygiene
1. Hand hygiene is the most important way to
prevent the spread of germs.
2. Hand hygiene helps keep you healthy by
reducing the number of germs on your hands
and helps reduce the spread of germs to your
family, friends, co-workers, patients, residents
or clients.
3. Using appropriate hand hygiene prevents
contamination of the patient’s, client’s, or
resident’s environment.
11. 5 moments of hand
hygiene
1. Before pt contact – shaking hands, helping a pt
move around, clinical examination
2. Before an aseptic task – oral / dental care,
secretion aspiration, wound dressing
3. After body fluid exposure risk - oral / dental care,
secretion aspiration, phlebotomy, clearing urine,
etc.
4. After pt contact – shaking hands, helping a pt
move around, clinical examination
5. After contact with pt surroundings – changing
bed linen, perfusion speed adjustment
12. Agents of hand hygiene
• Non medicated soap
• Alcohols
• Chlorhexidine
• Iodine and iodophores
• Quaternary ammonium
compounds
• Etc.
13. Method of hand washing-
• Remove jewellery, rinse hands under
running water
• Lather with soap and using friction cover
all surfaces
• Wash under running water
• Turn tap off with wrist / elbow
• Dry hand with single use towel or forced air
drying
• Pat skin rather than rubbing to avoid
cracking
14. How to perform hand hygiene
Proper technique is important when it comes to
effective hand hygiene. Without proper hand
hygiene technique, we can still spread many
micro-organisms with our hands. This section
will cover the proper techniques for the
following procedures
1. Wet hands under running water
2. Apply soap and distribute over hands
3. Rub hands together vigorously for 15 seconds
to create a good lather: Palm to palm
4. Rub fingertips of each hand in opposite palm
15. Continue
5. Between and around fingers
6. Rub each thumb clasped in opposite hand
7. Rub back of each hand with opposite palm
8. Rinse hands thoroughly under running water.
16.
17.
18. Steps of Surgical hand
preparation
• Prerequisites
1. Keep nails short and pay attention to them
2. Don't wear artificial nails / nail polish
3. Remove jewellery
4. Wash hands with non medicated soap before entering
OT
5. Clean subungal areas with nail file. Not nail brush
19. Procedure- 3 -5 mins
1. Start timing
2. Scrub each side of each finger, between fingers, back
and front of hand for 2 mins
3. Proceed to scrub the arms , keeping the hands
higher than the arm at all times
4. Repeat process on other hand and arm – 1 min
5. Rinse hands – not back and forth
6. Proceed to OT holding hands above elbows
7. Dry hand s with sterile and aseptic technique
before donning gown and gloves