Handwashing as disease prevention
Introduction
"Hand washing with soap and water is one of the most effective and economic ways to prevent infectious, nosocomial and improving patient safety". We live at a time when hand washing importance due to the hygienic and epidemiological situation worldwide. During a pandemic, for example, one of the cheapest, simplest and most important ways to prevent the spread of a virus is to wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Understood as one of the most basic hygiene methods and above all important.
Developing
Hand washing is a simple act that does not take more than five minutes and that can save us from being infected with countless diseases that are housed in our hands, be it presence of viruses, bacteria, etc. At present we are living with some respiratory diseases, some strong and other slight, that do not have age or sex discrimination in our population and even some have characteristics that can harm life. As health professionals we must acquire suitable customs in terms of praxis, since we are constantly contact with body fluids.
However, hand washing is a not only sectorized activity for health professionals, the common public is also exposed to external surfaces that may be contaminated, and although it is heard as a simple issue many people do not take it into accountAnd many others apply it erroneously. In the nineteenth century, in times of puerperal fever, the Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis, worried that this disease had up to 90% mortality, discovered that health professionals and medical students had been responsible for so many deaths, andthat doctors did not clean the instruments after treating each patient and neither washed their hands.
He came to this conclusion by comparing the practice with the midwives, which carried out the process with greater hygiene and exposed the mothers less to postpartum infections. Faced with this, he decided to install sinks for doctors and students. In this way we can capture two important objectives of the hygiene of the hands: protect the patient and the health worker, for this reason there are two crucial and general moments in which they must be carried out.
Before and after attention and specifically in five moments that will be treated in the development of this guide, which aims. There are two types of microorganisms that are in the hands on the one hand we find the resident flora, which consists of microscopic organisms that reside under the surface cells of the corneum stratum and on the other hand we find the transient flora, this colonizes the surface layers ofThe skin, and is more susceptible to elimination by washing and hands hygiene.
Some transient microorganisms can survive, but they generally do not multiply in the skin. Sometimes these are acquired by health workers during direct contact with patients or their close contaminated environmental surfaces and are the most frequently related organisms associated with infections associated with the health system. The hands of health professionals are usually colonized with pathogens such as S. Meticillin resistant aureus, Enterococcus resistant to vancomycin, gram -negative bacteria, Candida spp. And clostridium difficile, which can survive up to 150 h.
Approximately 106 microorganisms present in the skin can contaminate the batters, bedding, dental unit, nearby furniture and other objects in the patient’s immediate environment. The manual transfer of resistant pathogens is associated with nosocomial infections, which has been demonstrated. Higher hand pollution indices are reported in intensive care areas, in the same way as most cases of cross transmission are reported. Hands can simply be contaminated by playing living organisms that are contaminated.
Also due to inanimate objects in patients’ rooms or during basic procedures, such as registering blood pressure. In the nineteenth century, in times of puerperal fever, the Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis, worried that this disease had up to 90% mortality, discovered that health professionals and medical students had been responsible for so many deaths, andthat doctors did not clean the instruments after treating each patient and neither washed their hands. Came to this conclusion comparing the practice with midwives.
Which carried out the process with the greatest hygiene and exposed mothers less to postpartum infections. Faced with this, he decided to install sinks for doctors and students. According to the centers for disease control and prevention, the hygiene of the hands includes cleanalcohol, foams or gels.
The indications to wash their hands include when the hands are visibly dirty, contaminated with blood or other body fluids, before eating and after using the bathroom. Hands should be washed if there is a possible exposure to clostridium difficile, norovirus or bacillus anthracis. On the other hand, in the care of the dental consult. Before performing a clean or aseptic procedure. After a risk of exposure to body fluids and gloves elimination.
After contact with a patient and their immediate environment. After touching an inanimate object in the patient’s immediate environment, even if there is no direct contact with the patient. The ideal hygiene of hands is the most important, simplest and least expensive way to reduce the prevalence of communicable diseases and the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Several studies have shown that virtually eradicated hand washing the transmission of microorganisms that invariably occurs in the hands of health professionals who work in intensive care units.
conclusion
It has been proven that an increase in responsibility in hand washing is accompanied by a decrease in the rates of S. Meticillin resistant aureus. The Hand Hygiene Study Group specified nine controlled studies, which showed significant reductions in the results related to infection, even in environments with high infection rates in critical patients. It has also referred bibliographically that Klebsiella Sp’s transmission. It is reduced with the improvement of hands hygiene. Literature suggests that the improvement in terms of the quality of hands hygiene practice has significantly reduced pathogen acquisition rates in the hands and, ultimately, has reduced intrahospitally infections rates.
Leave feedback