World Hand Hygiene Day 5th May 2020 - HAND HYGIENE IN COVID 19
Press Release
Contributed by :Staff
|
|
By Dr. Praveen Kumar Kulkarni
HOD & Consultant Emergency and Medical Services,
KIMS Hosptals, Secunderabad
Current evidence indicates that the COVID-19 virus is transmitted through respiratory droplets or contact. Contact transmission occurs when contaminated hands touch the mucosa of the mouth, nose, or eyes; the virus can also be transferred from one surface to another by contaminated hands, which facilitates indirect contact transmission. This emphasizes the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Hence, THE WORLD BANK recommends 'WASH RESPONSE' (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) as an essential part of preventing and protecting human health during infectious disease outbreaks, including the current COVID-19 pandemic.
What do you need to know on hand hygiene best practices for COVID?
HAND WASHING:
Evidence from both the SARS and COVID-19 epidemics, shows that hand hygiene is very important to protect health care workers from getting infected
Hand washing in the community is highly effective to prevent both diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory illness. Thus, it is one of the most important measures that can be used to prevent COVID 19 infection.
GUIDANCE:
Alcohol-based hand rub products should contain at least 60% alcohol. (Soap and water is till the best)
Plain soap is effective at inactivating enveloped viruses such as the COVID-virus due to the oily surface membrane that is dissolved by soap, killing the virus.
In addition, hand washing removes germs through mechanical action.
Chlorinated water at 0.05% is not recommended for routine hand hygiene because it has skin and other toxic effects, and soap is easy to find and can be used effectively.
RIGHT TIME, RIGHT TECHNIQUE AND RIGHT DURATION OF HAND HYGIENE:
Conducting hand hygiene at the right time, using the right technique, with either ABHR or soap, water and disposable/clean towels is critical.
RIGHT TIME:
FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS:
Before touching a patient
After touching a patient
After touching patient surroundings
Before clean/aseptic procedure risk
After body fluid exposure risk
FOR COMMUNITY:
After returning from a public outing (grocery store, work, school, concert, sporting activity, hospital, nursing home, etc.).
Before leaving the bathroom both at home and in public bathrooms.
After shaking hands during flu season and virus outbreaks.
Before, during, and after preparing food, especially raw food.
Before eating food.
Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick with symptoms of vomiting or diarrhoea.
Before and after treating a cut or wound.
After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet.
After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste.
After handling pet food or pet treats.
After touching garbage.
After putting on your shoes.
After using public computers, touching public tables and countertops, cash and coins, other people's phones, etc.
RIGHT TECHNIQUE:
Wet hands with water
Apply enough soap to cover the hands
Rub hands palm to palm
Right palm over left dorsum with interlaced fingers and vice-versa
Palm to palm with fingers interlaced
Back of fingers to opposing palms with fingers interlocked
Rotational rubbing of left thumb clasped in right palm and vice-versa
Rotational rubbing backwards and forwards with clasped fingers of right hand in left palm and vice-versa
Rinse hands with water
Dry thoroughly with single use towels
Use towel to turn off faucet
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
Using clean, running water is important. Never wash your hands by submerging them in a basin or bowl of standing water. This water could contain germs that continue to live there.
Avoid touching doorknobs, toilet flush handles, and faucets after washing your hands.
Try using a paper towel, the sleeve of your clothing, a scarf, or gloves to protect your hands and fingers against germs.
Do not leave hand sanitizer unattended around small children. Drinking it is poisonous.
RIGHT DURATION:
Alcohol based hand rub: for 20-30 seconds
Water and soap: for 40-60 seconds
WHO RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. One or several hand hygiene stations (either for hand washing with soap and water or for hand rubbing with an alcohol-based hand rub) should be placed in front of the entrance of every public (including schools and healthcare facilities) or private commercial building, to allow everyone to practice hand hygiene before entering and when leaving it.
2. Facilities should be provided at all transport locations, and especially at major bus and train stations, airports, and seaports.
3. The quantity and usability of the hand hygiene stations should be adapted to the type (e.g. young children, elderly, those with limited mobility) and number of users to better encourage use and reduce waiting time.
4. The installation, supervision, and regular refilling of the equipment should be the overall responsibility of public health authorities and delegated to building managers. Private sector and civil society initiatives to support the commodities, maintenance, and effective use are welcome.
5. The use of public hand hygiene stations should be obligatory before passing the threshold of the entrance to any building and to any means of public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic. Repeated hand hygiene whenever outside private homes can in this way become part of the routine of everyday life in all countries.
6. All private and public health care facilities should establish or strengthen their hand hygiene improvement multimodal programmes and rapidly ensure at a minimum procurement of adequate quantities of quality hand hygiene supplies, refresher hand hygiene training, and reminders and communications about the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
7. Local health authorities should ensure the continuous presence of functional hand hygiene stations (either alcohol-based hand rub dispensers8 or soap, water, and disposable towels) for all health care workers at all points of care, in areas where personal protective equipment (PPE) is put on or taken off, and where health care waste is handled. In addition, functional hand hygiene stations should be available for all patients, family members, and visitors, and within 5 m of toilets, as well as at entrances and exits, in waiting and dining rooms, and other public areas.
8. Local production of alcohol-based hand rub formulations in national, sub-national or hospital pharmacies or by private companies should be strongly encouraged according to WHO guidance, especially if commercial options are limited or too costly.
9. Health care workers should perform hand hygiene using the proper technique and according to the instructions known as "My 5 moments for hand hygiene", in particular, before putting on PPE and after removing it, when changing gloves, after any contact with a patient with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 virus, their waste, or the environment in the patients' immediate surroundings, after contact with any respiratory secretions, before food preparation and eating, and after using the toilet.
Disclaimer: Please use this channel at your own discretion. These articles are contributed by our users. We are not responsible or liable for any problems related to the utilization of information of these articles.
View All Contributions
|
