Hand hygiene (for nursing assistant training)

Intro When assisting with client care, consistent, proper, and meticulous hand hygiene is the single easiest and most effective practice to reduce the risk of transmission of infection to and from the client.

Hand hygiene mainly includes handwashing with soap and water and using an alcohol-based hand rub. depending on your facility’s policy, you may need to perform hand hygiene at different times.

In any case, it’s important to at least perform hand hygiene upon entering and leaving a client’s room and before and after every contact with a client in general.

You should also perform hand hygiene before and after applying personal protective equipment, like gloves; after handling any waste; after exposure to items or surfaces that could possibly be contaminated with blood, body fluids, secretions, or excretions; and after contact with non-intact skin, mucous membranes, or wound dressings.

remember to perform hand hygiene before and after handling a client’s meal or drink, before coming in the room where clean supplies are maintained, before touching clean clothing or linen, and after helping a client back from the bathroom.

And, of course, perform hand hygiene upon entering and leaving the facility; before and after drinking, eating, or smoking; before and after putting in contact lenses; before and after doing your make-up or fixing your hair; after picking something off the floor; after using the bathroom; and after coughing, sneezing, or using a tissue.

when practicing hand hygiene, there are some general considerations you need to keep in mind. First of all, it’s important to pay special attention to the places where pathogens can easily hide and the places that can be frequently missed, like the back of your hands, between the fingers, and under or around your nails.

What can help with this is to keep the fingernails short; wear no nail polish, artificial nails, acrylics, or wraps; and remove jewelry, including rings and bracelets.

You should also keep in mind that practicing hand hygiene frequently might cause the hands to become dry and cracked, which will create openings for microbes.

This can be prevented by applying a facility-approved hand lotion or cream afterward. when it comes to choosing between washing your hands with soap and water and using an alcohol-based rub or sanitizer, these are mostly interchangeable.

However, remember not to use alcohol-based hand sanitizer if you have visible dirt, blood, or body secretions on your hands or if you're working with a client who has Clostridium difficile or another spore producing pathogen.

In these cases, hand washing with soap and water is a must. Soap and Water Okay, before starting to wash your hands, gather the supplies you’ll need if they are not already there, including soap or the handwashing agent chosen by your facility; clean paper towels; as well as a nail brush, orange stick, and hand lotion or cream if needed.

you don’t let your hands, body, or clothes come in contact with the sink at any time. Roll up your sleeves and remove or push up your watch if you are wearing one.

You can then turn on the warm water with a clean paper towel: Using warm water when washing your hands helps to protect the oils in your skin.

Dispose of the paper towel safely and according to your facility’s policy. Place your wrists and hands under the running water and keep your fingers directed downwards.

Make sure your hands are lower than your elbows so that dirty water doesn’t run up and contaminate your forearms. Apply some soap to one of your hands and lather it in between your fingers and under your fingernails.

You could also use a nail brush or orange stick to clean under your nails if needed; don't forget to scrub your thumbs, too.

Continue to scrub for 20 seconds or more. It may help to sing the “ABCs” twice; that's how long it should take.

them with a clean paper towel, starting from your fingertips and moving up the arm moving upwards. Dispose of the paper towel safely and according to your facility’s policy.

Then, grab another clean paper towel to turn the tap off and discard it in the same way. You may then apply some hand lotion or cream to prevent your hands from drying out.

Finally, make sure not to touch anything upon leaving the room, like the doorknob. for alcohol-based hand rubs or sanitizers, simply apply ample product to your hands.

Spread it over the palms, on the top of your hands, as well as in between your fingers and under your fingernails. Continue to rub until your hands are completely dry.

is essential to reduce the risk of transmission of infection to and from the client. There are various instances when you should perform hand hygiene; the most important of which are upon entering and leaving a client’s room and before and after every contact with a client.

Hand hygiene can involve either hand washing with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. However, if there is visible dirt, blood, or body secretions on your hands or if you're assisting with the care of a client who has Clostridium difficile, hand washing with soap and water is required.

Make sure to pay special attention to the most frequently missed areas, like the back of your hands, between the fingers, and under or around your nails.

Opt for short fingernails and no nail polish, artificial nails, acrylics,