The clinic I lease space in just had a health department inspection. They said that if we have hand sanitizer gels then we have to post a sign that they are not to replace handwashing.
Hospital hygiene, hand washing study
by Fatfreek 17 Replies latest jw friends
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jaguarbass
I'm more concerned about my dentist.
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bikerchic
At my last Doctors visit the Doc came into the room and before examining me she washed her hands right there at the sink in the room. After the exam she washed again. She even blew her nose after washing her hands the second time and washed again! Made me happy!
I am constantly washing my hands I am beginning to think I have an OCD about it..... Problem is everything you touch in public places are laden with germs how do you keep yourself safe from the harmful germs? I contacted celucitis this spring it was awful and it is very serious you can die from it. I'm sure I contacted it from touching some germ infested thing. Was it a door knob? Was it the handle on the shopping cart? Maybe the door handle which I have to pull open on the inside of the wash room, you know AFTER I've used the facilities and washed my hands! Could it be my keyboard, mouse or the salt and pepper shakers I used at my local restaurant?
OK I'm obsessing....this stuff freaks me out!
Here is a great article from the Mayo Clinic on proper hand washing:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hand-washing/HQ00407
Hand washing: An easy way to prevent infection
Hand washing is a simple habit that can help keep you healthy. Learn the benefits of good hand hygiene, when to wash your hands and how to clean them properly.
Hand washing is a simple habit, something most people do without thinking. Yet hand washing, when done properly, is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick. This simple habit requires only soap and warm water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer — a cleanser that doesn't require water. Do you know the benefits of good hand hygiene and when and how to wash your hands properly?
The dangers of not washing your hands
Despite the proven health benefits of hand washing, many people don't practice this habit as often as they should — even after using the toilet. Throughout the day you accumulate germs on your hands from a variety of sources, such as direct contact with people, contaminated surfaces, foods, even animals and animal waste. If you don't wash your hands frequently enough, you can infect yourself with these germs by touching your eyes, nose or mouth. And you can spread these germs to others by touching them or by touching surfaces that they also touch, such as doorknobs.
Infectious diseases that are commonly spread through hand-to-hand contact include the common cold, flu and several gastrointestinal disorders, such as infectious diarrhea. While most people will get over a cold, the flu can be much more serious. Some people with the flu, particularly older adults and people with chronic medical problems, can develop pneumonia. The combination of the flu and pneumonia, in fact, is the eighth-leading cause of death among Americans.
Inadequate hand hygiene also contributes to food-related illnesses, such as salmonella and E. coli infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as 76 million Americans get a food-borne illness each year. Of these, about 5,000 die as a result of their illness. Others experience the annoying signs and symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Proper hand-washing techniques
Good hand-washing techniques include washing your hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Antimicrobial wipes or towelettes are just as effective as soap and water in cleaning your hands but aren't as good as alcohol-based sanitizers.
Antibacterial soaps have become increasingly popular in recent years. However, these soaps are no more effective at killing germs than is regular soap. Using antibacterial soaps may lead to the development of bacteria that are resistant to the products' antimicrobial agents — making it even harder to kill these germs in the future. In general, regular soap is fine. The combination of scrubbing your hands with soap — antibacterial or not — and rinsing them with water loosens and removes bacteria from your hands.
Proper hand washing with soap and water
Follow these instructions for washing with soap and water:Wet your hands with warm, running water and apply liquid soap or use clean bar soap. Lather well.
Rub your hands vigorously together for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
Scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
Rinse well.
Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel.
Use a towel to turn off the faucet.
Proper use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers — which don't require water — are an excellent alternative to hand washing, particularly when soap and water aren't available. They're actually more effective than soap and water in killing bacteria and viruses that cause disease. Commercially prepared hand sanitizers contain ingredients that help prevent skin dryness. Using these products can result in less skin dryness and irritation than hand washing.Not all hand sanitizers are created equal, though. Some "waterless" hand sanitizers don't contain alcohol. Use only the alcohol-based products. The CDC recommends choosing products that contain at least 60 percent alcohol.
To use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:
Apply about 1/2 teaspoon of the product to the palm of your hand.
Rub your hands together, covering all surfaces of your hands, until they're dry.
If your hands are visibly dirty, however, wash with soap and water, if available, rather than a sanitizer.
When should you wash your hands?
Although it's impossible to keep your bare hands germ-free, there are times when it's critical to wash your hands to limit the transfer of bacteria, viruses and other microbes.
Always wash your hands:
After using the toilet
After changing a diaper — wash the diaper-wearer's hands, too
After touching animals or animal waste
Before and after preparing food, especially before and immediately after handling raw meat, poultry or fish
Before eating
After blowing your nose
After coughing or sneezing into your hands
Before and after treating wounds or cuts
Before and after touching a sick or injured person
After handling garbage
Before inserting or removing contact lenses
When using public restrooms, such as those in airports, train stations, bus stations and restaurants
Kids need clean hands, too
You can help your children avoid getting sick by insisting that they wash their hands properly and frequently. To get kids into the habit, teach by example. Wash your hands with your children and supervise their hand washing. Place hand-washing reminders at children's eye level, such as a chart by the bathroom sink for children to mark every time they wash their hands. Make sure the sink is low enough for children to use, or that it has a stool underneath so that children can reach it. Tell your children to wash their hands for as long as it takes them to sing their ABCs, "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" or the "Happy Birthday" song. This works especially well with younger children, who may rush when washing their hands.
Older children and adolescents also can use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Younger children can use them, too — with an adult's help. Just make sure the sanitizer has completely dried before your child touches anything. This will avoid ingestion of alcohol from hand-to-mouth contact. Store the container safely away after use.
Hand washing is especially important for children who attend child care. Children younger than 3 years in child care are at greater risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, which can easily spread to family members and others in the community.
To protect your child's health, be sure your child care provider promotes sound hygiene, including frequent hand washing or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Ask whether the children are required to wash their hands several times a day — not just before meals. Note, too, whether diapering areas are cleaned after each use and whether eating and diapering areas are well separated.
A simple way to stay healthy
Hand washing doesn't take much time or effort, but it offers great rewards in terms of preventing illness. Adopting this simple habit can play a major role in protecting your health.
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Quandry
Regarding the infection outbreak you mentioned: I wonder how well the DOCTORS are doing washing their hands before and after each patient. The doctor I work for is meticulous about handwashing, but other doctors I have observed are not so careful. Also, visitors are equally guilty of non-handwashing
I was with my mother during extended hospital stays many different times. I have seen some very maddening things. Doctors do not always wash, lean over wounds with one patient, then see the next and lean over them, with their coat sometimes touching a wound area. Many nurses do not even wear uniforms that look clean. They did not clean the room consistently, either. Hospitals are bad places to be if you ares sick..........
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sweetstuff
I wonder how well the DOCTORS are doing washing their hands before and after each patient.
And therein lies the true problem. I worked in a hospital for two years, in housekeeping. I had to do many Infection Control cleanings for MRSA, VRE, TB, etc. It is most often the doctors, not the nurses who are haphazard in handwashing. I can't tell you how many times I saw a doctor enter a Isolation room (rooms where the patient has tested positive for a contagious infection of some sort and extra precautions are mandated-gowns, gloves, masks etc.), without washing his hands, leave without washing his hands and or gowning up and putting on gloves then go on to the next patient. I reported a couple of them myself, lol.
There is absolutely some risk associated with being hospitalized, due to the vast amount of patients seen by any given doctor doing rounds per shift. But, its not only doctors and nurses you have to worry about, if the housekeeping department is not effective, germs can be left behind from the person who previously inhabited your room (for certain infections the room is to remain unoccupied for a period of time while the disinfectant kills any remaining germs, but due to shortages of beds, this hardly ever happens!). If the dietary staff isn't following precautions your food could be at risk, etc, etc.
It takes the entire staff of a hospital using the proper precautions, every single time, to limit the amount of infection spread. I've seen many a hospital floor go from having one special percaution room/Isolation room to seven or eight rooms with positive infections, and this is only because somebody or somebodies, weren't following the rules regarding handwashing or sanitary measures. Yeah, I don't relish the idea of hospitalization whatsoever.
When my aunt was in for chemotherapy I drilled this fact into my mother's head, make sure no one touchs her without cleaning their hands with soap and or/alcohol disinfectant. I think she thought I was overstating the importance of the issue, but they did listen and kept a very close eye on it and she left infection free from a ward with three positive Isolation rooms for VRE. (Not something you wanna catch while on Chemotherapy!)
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Fatfreek
Excellent article, Bikerchic. Your experiences along with Sweetstuff and Quandry are all scary.
Shame on you, doctors. I'm guessing most of you are men. You are no different than those white collar workers using our restroom at work (before I retired). If I was SOP, my door was closed and I could hear others come in, use the urinal or the adjacent commode, then exit the restroom without using the sink at all. I'd say 75% did this.
Louis Pasteur tried to teach us something. Problem is, we can't see the little critters -- out of sight is out of mind.
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Hortensia
a couple of years ago I spent five days in the hospital - I NEVER saw anyone wash their hands, no one at all. They also didn't clean the room or change the sheets or clean the shower. It's a local hospital with a good reputation.
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Snoozy
Yep..my Mom had a contracted a staph infection when she was in the hospital.The whole ICU was infected. Know how they handled it? They shipped all the patients to private rooms on another floor so they could spead it there.
They threw stuff (old and new) bags of IV 's in the sinks or on the patients beds...then took the new one and attached it to the patients IV tube.The sink was dry because no one ever washed their hands on entering or leaving. I blew up..
I later had one orderly banned from my Dad's room when he was in the hospital.If you ever complain about personel..don't let them treat your patient friend/relative again. No telling what they may do!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did notice when my Dad was in the hospital a few months later the Drs. were using the hand washing antiseptic by the sink upon entering and leaving.
Still almost every time a friend or relative goes in the hospital I hear of someone in the hospital having a staph infection...they are very hard to treat.The hospital is NO place for a sick person...
Snoozy..