CLEAN HANDS SAVE LIVES
Hand hygiene is the most effective way to combat the spread of infection, but what exactly can it stop, and could some soaps do more harm than good? Freddie Chirgwin-Bell from KM Cleaning Services investigates.
If anyone has been unfortunate enough to go to a hospital, for whatever reason, you can’t help but notice the sheer abundance of anti- bacterial soaps and signs telling you to wash your hands. By now we all know that washing our hands can help stop the spread of infection, but how effective is it and do you even know how to wash your hands properly?
After a trip to the loo, it is estimated that you can have up to 200m bacteria per square inch on your hands. That is an awful lot of potential contamination. Here are some statistics about handwashing contamination, from the Centre for Disease Control (CDC):
• It is estimated that washing hands with soap and water can reduce diarrheal disease-associated deaths by up to 50%.
• Researchers in London estimate that if everyone routinely washed their hands, a million deaths a year could be prevented.
• Handwashing can reduce the risk of respiratory infections by 16%, while a large percentage of foodborne disease outbreaks are spread by contaminated hands.
Not only are diarrhoea, cholera and food poisoning transmitted by our hands, many additional pathogens
54 | WASHROOM HYGIENE
can also be found on people’s hands. These include:
• Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA)
• Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A Strep)
• Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE)
• Klebsiella • Enterobacter • Pseudomonas • Clostridium difficile • Candida • Rotavirus • Adenovirus • Hepatitis A virus • Norovirus
So now it’s obvious how necessary it is for us to wash our hands, but do you know how to wash your hands? I can hear you muttering in disbelief that of course, you know how to wash your hands, but do you know how to wash them to stop bacteria spreading?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently published a series of infection controls for the medical industries across the globe. These infection controls may cover all aspects of a medical practice, the public health issue of washing one’s hands remains a primary concern for all. As this
following paragraph stated:
‘Washing your hands, aside from vaccination, is probably the most effective contribution you can make to public health. Regularly washing your hands, especially after going to the toilet or if you have a cold or the flu, will help prevent the spread of infection.’
Experts have determined that washing your hands with hot water and soap for the time it takes to sing a verse of ‘Happy Birthday’ should ensure any germs on your hands are destroyed.
Yes, the perennial hot water and soap will help stave off a multitude of pathogens, including those that can cause some very nasty diseases. If you want to be extra careful, you can buy anti-bacterial soap but you should be aware that in America these soaps are being banned, because current studies and thinking indicates that an overuse of this product can lead to viruses and bacteria mutating to form superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics.
Anti-bacterial soaps may also have no extra benefit to hot water and plain soap. For the moment, we recommend plain soap and hot water, with a liberal amount of scrubbing action, to combat this threat.
www.kmcleaningservices.co.uk twitter.com/TomoCleaning
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