Hand hygiene – effective way to prevent infections

Unclean or soiled hands transmit infections in a community as well as in the hospital settings. Children are more prone to infection/infestation as they play and then often put their dirty hands, fingers in their mouth. Similarly when the adults have not properly washed their hands after defecation and before meal then they are liable to get infection/ infestation. Our hands are mostly infected when we touch the soiled items, after using the washroom, blowing nose or sneezing. In a hospital setting, simple tasks can contaminate hands, while taking patients vital signs, touching the patient's clothing or linens and touching equipment and furniture nearby. Hand washing for hand hygiene is the act of cleaning one's hands with or without the use of water or another liquid, or the use of soap. Hand washing leads to significant reduction in the number of potential infections causing organism. Practice of washing hands with soap and water or alcohol based hand sensitizer should be generally accepted. Alcohol gel should be used on visibly clean hands where hand washing facilities are not there in the patient's room. The gel contains hand moisturizes to keep your hands in good condition-therefore using alcohol gel is much kinder on the hands than soap and water. Alcohol based hand rub will work very quickly and effectively, especially when health professional entering or leaving a ward, also use after removing gloves. Alcohol based hand rub doesn't work against Clostridium difficile or any of the diarrheas, causing virus. Health personnel hand washing procedure compliance rate is approximately 40%. Every year on 15th of October, Global Hand Washing Day (GHD) is celebrated to motivate & mobilize peoples around the world to wash their hands with water and soap.