Hand Hygiene

When we are fit and healthy, we can usually defend ourselves against germs and infections. For those who are not healthy, or have recently had a surgical procedure, the ability to fight infection can be weakened. Within healthcare facilities, having an infection can result in:

• Illness
• Longer hospital stays
• Slower recovery
• Additional stress for all concerned

Good hand hygiene is of key importance for all health care workers. Each time you visit a health care facility, and especially if you're visiting a patient or resident, it is very important to wash your hands, even if they look clean. Bottles or dispensers of hand sanitizer are generally located in all patient care areas and in high traffic areas in health care facilities.

At Henry Schein, our goal is to support your efforts in working toward maintaining the total health of your patients and staff by providing you with the products and tools to ensure your practice has what it needs to prevent the spread of disease. A key step for health care professionals and the public alike is awareness of the importance of hand hygiene—the single most critical measure to avoid the transmission of disease in our communities.

Handwashing Facts:

• 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.
• A large percentage of foodborne disease outbreaks are spread by contaminated hands. Appropriate Handwashing practices can reduce the risk of foodborne illness and other infections.
• Global research indicates that improvements in hand hygiene activities could potentially reduce health care associated infection rates by up to 50%.
• It is estimated that if everyone routinely washed their hands, a million deaths a year could be prevented.
• 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.

5 Steps To Clean Hands

Handwashing involves five simple and effective steps:

1. Wet
2. Lather
3. Scrub
4. Rinse
5. Dry

You can take to reduce the spread of diarrheal and respiratory illness so you — and others — can stay healthy. Regular handwashing, particularly before and after certain activities, is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs to others. It's quick, it's simple, and it can keep us all from getting sick. Good hand hygiene can protect you, your family, and others – especially during cold and flu season. Click here for a printable step-by-step guide to good handwashing.

The WHO, WHY and HOW of Hand Hygiene

WHO?

• Anyone that has been in contact or taking care of someone who is sick.
• Anyone that has been in a public space and has been in contact with other people.
• Anyone that has been in contact with any surfaces that have been touched by other individuals.

WHY?

• Thousands of people around the world die every day from infections acquired while receiving health care.
• Hands are the main pathways of germ transmission in the health care environment.
• Hand hygiene is the most important measure to avoid the transmission of harmful germs and prevent health care-associated infections.

HOW?

• Clean your hands by rubbing them with an alcohol-based formulation, as the preferred means for routine hygienic hand antisepsis if hands are not visibly soiled. It is faster, more effective, and better tolerated by your hands than washing with soap and water.
• Wash your hands with soap and water when hands are visibly dirty or visibly soiled with blood or other body fluids, and after using the restroom.
• If exposure to potential spore-forming pathogens is strongly suspected or proven, including outbreaks of Clostridium difficile, handwashing with soap and water is the preferred means.

Hand Hygiene Resources: