Introduction to Hand Hygiene

Why is hand hygiene so important?

The most common way germs are spread is by people's hands.
Germs are often harmless but they can also cause illnesses such as
colds, fu, and tummy bugs.
Washing your hands properly with soap and warm water is the
single most important thing you can do to help reduce the spread of
infections and help protect you, your family and those around you.
Handwashing
Hand washing is defned as the vigorous, brief rubbing together of all
surfaces of lathered hands, followed by rinsing under a stream of water.
Handwashing suspends microorganisms and mechanically removes them
by rinsing with water. The fundamental principle of hand washing is
removal, not illing.
The amount of time spent washing hands is important to reduce the
transmission of pathogens to other food, water, other people and
inanimate ob!ects "fomites#, such as door nobs, hand railings and other
fre$uently touched surfaces. %roper hand hygiene involves the use of
soap and warm, running water, rubbing hands vigorously for at least &'
seconds. The use of a nail brush is not necessary or desired, but close
attention should be paid to the nail areas, as well as the area between
the fngers.
Wet hands have been nown to transfer pathogens much more readily
than dry hands or hands not washed at all. The residual moisture
determines the level of bacterial and viral transfer following hand
washing. (areful hand drying is a critical factor for bacterial transfer to
sin, food and environmental surfaces.
The drying times re$uired to reduce the transfer of these. )epeated
drying of hands with reusable cloth towels is not recommended and
should be avoided.