Purpose of Medical Handwashing

The purpose of hand washing, whether it be medical or personal, is to prevent the cross contamination of micro-organisms and disease from one person or surface to another.

Significance

• Proper hand washing is the cleansing of hands with a soap or other hand hygiene agent to remove soil or microorganisms from the hands and wrists.

History

• In 1847 , Dr. Ignaz Semmelwiez noticed while working in an obstetrics clinic in Vienna that a fatal fever occurred in women and newborns who were assisted by medical students. The medical students had conducted autopsies on corpses with bacterial sepsis before attending to the women. After instituting a strict hand washing policy using an antiseptic wash of chlorinated lime, the death rate dropped significantly in 3 months.

Surgical Scrubbing

• According to the Oct 25,2002 "Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health Care Settings," publication from the CDC , scrubbing before surgery using a brush/sponge combo for one to two minutes followed by an alcohol based product is as effective as a vigorous 10 minute scrub with a brush and antiseptic.

Significance

• Observations conducted by the CDC and published in the Oct 25 2002 " Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health Care Settings," found that health care workers in hospitals washed their hands an average of five times to as many as 30 times per shift. Some nurses were observed to have washed their hands more than 90 times per shift.

Time Frame

• Hands should be washed for at least 20 seconds and all surfaces of hands should be covered with hand hygiene agent and water, including under fingernails and up to the wrists.