Hand Washing for General Information , PowerPoint

Importance of Handwashing

1. HANDWASHING created by Shauna Llewellyn - Gordon , HEO , St. Ann

2. Why is it Important Hand washing is the single most important thing you can do to help reduce the spread of infections.

3. Why Should We Wash our Hands It is estimated that washing hands with soap and water could reduce diarrheal disease-associated deaths by up to 50%. Researchers in London estimate that if everyone routinely washed their hands, a million deaths a year could be prevented.

4. Why is Hand washing Important Regularly washing your hands properly with antibacterial soap and warm water can help protect you, your family, and others against the risk of infection. If antibacterial soap and warm water are not available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer should be used.

5. Supporting evidence According to research from 17 studies the simple act of hand washing reduces the risk of getting a stomach bug by as much as 47%3 Hand washing can reduce the risk of respiratory infections in developing nations by 16%4 An analysis of several studies in developing countries showed that effective hand washing practices reduce the risk of diarrhoeal disease by 43% (28-54%)

6. Supporting evidence Studies show that good hand washing practices reduce the transmission of diarrhoea and colds, and targeted disinfection at critical sites reduces the spread of infection in the home and workplace.

7. Surfaces Why is surface cleaning so important? Pathogenic micro-organisms and fungal spores entering the home can survive on surfaces for significant periods of time and can be transferred to the hands when touched.

8. Germs from hands can then be transferred to other surfaces and other people, leading to infection. To break this chain of infection, household surfaces should be cleaned thoroughly with an antibacterial cleanser or disinfectant on a regular basis, reducing the risk of cross-contamination and lowering the risk of illness.

9. Supporting evidence Commonly touched surfaces are likely to be contaminated when a person with a rhinovirus infection is at home. Detectable, infectious rhinovirus on a contaminated site can be transferred to fingertips for at least 24 hours6. Adults with colds commonly contaminate environmental surfaces with rhinovirus (rhinoviruses are responsible for approximately 50% of common colds in both adults and children). One study has shown that 35% of environmental sites in a hotel room become contaminated with rhinovirus when a person staying in the room has a rhinovirus cold.

10. Why Should We Wash our Hands A large percentage of foodborne disease outbreaks are spread by contaminated hands. Appropriate hand washing practices can reduce the risk of foodborne illness and other infections Handwashing can reduce the risk of respiratory infections by 16% . The use of an alcohol gel hand sanitizer in the classroom provided an overall reduction in absenteeism due to infection by 19.8% among 16 elementary schools and 6,000 students.

11. Obstacles to Hand Hygiene Too busy – It is essential that you make time Skin irritation – Use lotions & hand rub appropriately Glove use – is not a substitute for hand hygiene Not top of mind – needs to become as spontaneous as using aseptic technique and all other safety strategies.

12. So, Why Clean your hands? 1) to protect the guest against harmful pathogens carried on your hands or present on his/her own skin 2) to protect yourself and others in your environment from harmful pathogens

13. Time Optimal hand hygiene using an alcohol-based hand rub takes 20-30 seconds Optimal hand hygiene using soap and water takes 40-60 seconds Both are effective methods

14. Alcohol Based Hand Rub Apply a palm full of rub and cover all surfaces of the hand; rub together until the hands are dry.

15. How to Hand Rub To effectively reduce the growth of germs on hands, handrubbing must be performed by following all steps illustrated on the left. This takes only 20-30 secs!

16. Soap & Water Wet the hands first and apply enough soap to cover all surfaces of the hands. Make sure the hands are dry and the towels are not used repeatedly or by multiple people. Thorough drying of hands after hand washing has important protective benefits and helps to eliminate more pathogens from your hands.

17. Hand Washing Station should be equipped

18. Hand washing When should hands be washed? Before: You: Eat or prepare food Look after a sick person or a baby Touch your eyes or mouth After After visiting the rest room On entering the food rooms and before handling any food or equipment In between handling raw and cooked food How often should you wash hands?

19. After: After handling waste or garbage After handling chemicals After combing or touching the hair After eating, smoking, coughing, sneezing or blowing the nose Touching an animal or handle waste Have been out in public Change a diaper Look after a sick person

20. Ten basic steps to proper hand washing Soap and rinse hands Step1 Soap and rinse tap Soap hands Lather Brush nails Clean nails Rinse hands Examine hands Dry hands Dispose paper towel Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 9 Step 10

21. Tips Gloves do not replace the practice of optimal hand hygiene Avoid hand washing immediately before or after using an alcohol-based hand rub Avoid hot water Let hands dry completely before donning gloves Use hand lotions and creams

22. Tips Allergies or adverse reactions – use alternative products No artificial fingernails or extenders Keep natural nails short (0.5 cm) Remove jewelry

23. Hygiene Facts - CDC Face and Body Hygiene More than 50% of healthy persons have Staphylococcus aureus living in or on their nasal passages, throats, hair, or skin. Within the first 15 minutes of bathing, the average person sheds 6 x 106 colony forming units (CFU) of Staphylococcus aureus . The average individual swimmer contributes at least 0.14 grams of fecal material to the water, usually within the first 15 minutes of entering . Showering with soap before swimming helps stop the spread of germs by removing fecal material from the body. Trachoma, the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide, is related to the lack of facial hygiene .

24. Hygiene Facts - CDC Inadequate contact lens hygiene, such as failure to properly disinfect lenses, is associated with an increased risk of acquiring the eye infection Acanthamoeba keratitis . The spread of pinworms can be reduced by proper hygiene, including clipping nails and showering children immediately after they wake in the morning. Hundreds of thousands of persons in the U.K. (between 1.2% and 1.3% of the total population) acquire outer ear infections each year, due to contaminated water remaining in the ear after swimming or bathing.

25. Source Information in this document gained from CDC: Hygiene Fast Facts https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/fast_facts.html