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Literature review on hand washing practices
Why is handwashing considered a standard precaution
Why is handwashing considered a standard precaution
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Recommended: Literature review on hand washing practices
Hand washing is simple, easy, and quick. It prevents the spread of bacteria, especially the spread of diarrheal illness. Washing hands with the use of soap and water before and after any activities (e.g. preparing food, eating, cleaning, treating, using toilet, blowing nose, cough, or sneezing, touching garbage, etc.) is the best prevention a person can do to stay healthy, not only for himself/herself, but also to other people around them. When people wash their hands using soap and water, they are removing germs. Germs that can get people sick. Hand washing is very simple but hard to individuals and community if they are not driven. It is recommended by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to clean hands, protect people, …show more content…
These are the steps to properly washing hands. First, wet hands using clean and running water, either warm or cold water. Turn off faucet/tap and apply soap. Then, lather hands. Rub both hands together with soap, making sure the back of your hands is also lathered and between your fingers and under nails. Then, scrub both hands for a minimum of 20 seconds. Rinse hands under clean and running water. Last, air-dry hands or use clean cloth or paper towel.
What if soap and water is not available? With the use of hand sanitizer if hands are not visibly soiled or not contaminated with blood are effective. It kills germs most of the time because it contains alcohol. Although, hand sanitizers are an option, it will not eliminate all types of germs and bacteria. There are many hand washing studies conducted around the world. The purpose of every study is to determine if hand washing with the use of soap and water prevents the spread of diarrheal illness, especially in the children and adult daycare centers, schools, or
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This was drew on three systematic reviews, two of them for the Cochrane Collaboration, focused on the effect of hand washing with soap on diarrhea, of water quality improvement and of excrete disposal, respectively. The risk reduction in this specific study was a reduction of 48%, 17%, and 36% respectively in reduction of diarrhea. They recognize that water, hygiene, and sanitation have important benefits to people’s health. It does not only prevent the spread of diarrhea, but also prevents other types of illnesses contracted through direct contact (Cairncros, Hunt, Boisson, Bostoen, Curtis, Fung, & Schmidt,
Washing your hands properly with soap is one of the most important things you can do to reduce the number of germs, or infections you can spread. The issue that needs to be addressed, is how can we promote good hand washing habits efficiently, to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. For this reason, Kohler will be introducing the “Hygieia” in Q3 of 2016. The Hygieia is a hands free motion detecting sink that dispenses water, and soap simultaneously.
Parents and teachers encourage children to wash their hands with soap and water after using the bathroom, touching dirty objects, and sometimes before eating. Next to every tissue box there will most likely be a bottle of hand sanitizer that kills 99.9% of germs. Both hand soap and hand sanitizer kill off the germs and bacteria that can cause infections and diseases. Which one works best? The purpose of this experiment is to show which is more effective, hand soap or hand sanitizer (Bjornsson). To prove this, Bjornsson writes up a lab using the growth of bread mold to help identify the results of both products (Bjornsson). I believe that hand soap works better than hand sanitizers because doctors remind us that we should wash our hands especially during flu season to keep us healthy. Therefore, the hypothesis for this lab is that the hand soap will be the better alternative and will slow down the growth of bread mold more than the hand sanitizer in this experiment.
Health tips. Hand hygiene. (2009). Mayo Clinic Health Letter (English Ed.), 27(12), 3. Retrieved from
As long as the hand sanitizer contains at least 60 percent alcohol and is used correctly, then it does not matter which form of hand sanitizer is used. Hand sanitizers kill most, but not all of the bacteria and viruses on contact, but it does not work well when there is grime from cooking or gardening because the grime makes a barrier.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines hand hygiene as, “a general term that applies to routine hand washing, antiseptic hand wash, antiseptic hand rub, or surgical hand antisepsis.” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013) The idea of hand washing has been around for centuries. In the mid-1800’s Ignaz Semmelweis established that hospital-acquired diseases were transmitted via the hands of health care workers. After Semmelweis observed physicians and health care workers in the obstetric setting and studied mortality rates he recommended that hands be scrubbed in a chlorinated lime solution before coming in contact with every patient. Following the implementation of Semmelweis’s recommendation mortality rates associated with childbirth fell from seven percent to three percent. Although Semmelweis observation and recommendations were significant fellow physicians and colleagues did not adopt them. The 1980’s posed as a crucial time for health care in the sense of hand hygiene. This was when the first national hand hygiene guidelines were published in the 1980s. In 1995 and 1996, the CDC/Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) in the USA suggested that either antimicrobial soap or a waterless antiseptic agent be use...
The focus of health care is and has always been, practicing good hygiene, living a healthy lifestyle, and having a positive attitude reduces the chance of getting ill. Although there is not much prevention we can take for some of the diseases but we can certainly practice good hand hygiene to prevent infection and its ill effects. Research proves that hand washing is surely the most easy and effective way to prevent infection in health care. The question for this research: Is Hand washing an effective way to prevent infection in health care? It led to the conclusion that due to the high acuity, high patient: staff ratio, and lack of re evaluation certain units in the health care facilities cannot adhere to correct hand washing guidelines. Hand
Interestingly, two studies of the four compared the compliance rates of HCWs in particular nurses and physicians. Sharma, Puri, Sharma, & Whig (2011) found in their study that compliance rates for hand hygiene protocols was significantly higher for physicians (50.8%) as a opposed to nurses (41.3%). In contrast, Mathai, George, & Abraham (2011) had conflicting findings in which higher compliance rates were associated with nurses (45%) in comparison to physicians (17%). Both studies had similar sample sizes and were investigated in developing countries India and Pakistan; nonetheless, language barriers and varying educational levels of different staff groups, may have influenced the understanding of the need for effective hand hygiene (Mathai et al., 2011). Of four studies, three were observational studies, which provide opportunity to question the rigour of the
One of the most significant current discussions in nursing evidence-based practice is the effectiveness of hand hygiene interventions in reducing hospital-acquired infections. Much debate continues into the uncertainty that exists between the correlation of interventions and increased hand hygiene practices. This essay critically examines the relationship between interventions and the dubious increase in hand hygiene compliance by healthcare professionals by using the framework of evidence based practice to evaluate previous literature, identify barriers and note mechanisms used to measure effectiveness of interventions.
The studies provided in the literature review prove that. It is believed that hand washing is the best thing to do to kill bacteria but as study show hand sanitizing is more efficient (Michaels, 2014). The experiment mentioned before done at the University College of Health Studies proves that hand sanitizing is the best way to kill bacteria in hands (2015). The best way to prevent hospital acquired infections is to wash hands in situations where it is necessary, like when hands are visibly soiled, and use hand sanitizer in situations that are appropriate. In other words use your judgment. Because studies also show that washing hands too often can have damaging effects to hands it is not recommended to use hand washing only (Michaels, 2014). It takes about 20 seconds to wash your hands and 5 seconds to use hand sanitizer. Such a big difference can be made in the prevention of hospital acquired infections by just performing that very simple task that doesn’t take very long to do and so many lives can be saved as
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer. Always wash your hands:
I chose the subject of sanitation because it is something that everyone should be able to have available to them. Everyone everywhere should have access to fresh drinking water and appropriate means of adequate sewage disposal. By being able to have apposite sanitation procedures one is able to diminish many diseases and increase a healthier life. Billions of individuals lack the ability to be able to have a place to defecate, let alone a private place to, which leads to open defecation and then in return causes diseases like Cholera. A couple of weeks ago we watched a TEDTalk about sanitation issues, during the video, a picture was shown of a young man who was down in a deep hole covered in fecal matter. Not even a spot of personal protective
daily practice of washing their bacteria laden hands in water intended for a batch of
“Researchers in London estimate that if everyone routinely washed their hands, a million deaths a year could be prevented” (“Hygiene Fast Facts”, 2013, p. 1). Hands are the number one mode of transmission of pathogens. Hands are also vital in patient interaction, and therefore should be kept clean to protect the safety of patients and the person caring for the patient. Hand hygiene is imperative to professional nursing practice because it prevents the spread of pathogens, decreases chances of hospital-acquired infections, and promotes patient safety. There is a substantial amount of evidence that shows why hand hygiene is important in healthcare
When scrubbing your hands, start by rubbing the palm of one hand at the back of the other and continue to rub along the fingers. Repeat the entire process with the other hand. Then, rub in between each of your fingers on both hands and round the thumb. Ideally, you should scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds or until you finish humming the Happy Birthday song. Start humming the moment you start scrubbing.
Laundry detergents have had a great impact on the society since it helps our life in keeping ourselves clean, lessens our job or the use of our energy in cleaning our appliances. Laundry detergents have come a long way since the very first bar soaps, made from animal fat and lye, were offered for sale in the 1700s. In the 1950s, homemakers had more options of fabric care since the introduction of synthetic detergents were placed on the market. However; during the 1970s, the most significant innovation in advanced cleaning was made available to clean specific types of stains. Every detergent manufacturer has secret ingredients and mixtures to produce their specific brands of laundry detergent. Many of these ingredients are extracted from plants,