Handwashing Saves Lives

Handwashing as a Protection for Gardeners

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Attention gardeners! New research shows that washing your hands after gardening can help protect you from a common but dangerous strain of Legionnaires’ disease.

 

Legionnaires’ is a severe form of pneumonia, and those most at risk are older adults, smokers, and people with weakened immune systems. Most people with Legionnaires’ disease have contracted it by inhaling a bacteria called legionella. Untreated, the disease can be fatal.

 

Legionella longbeachae is the culprit strain in this case, a bacteria found in soil and compost products (homemade compost excluded), according to a study out of the University of Otago in New Zealand.

 

“We recommend gardeners avoid breathing in compost or potting mix, by opening bags away from the face and keeping it close to the ground when moving it around. Also, always wash compost/potting mix off hands before putting them near the face,” says epidemiologist and Associate Professor Patricia Priest.

 

Further research is needed for more conclusive information, but in the meantime, it’s important to remember that washing your hands after gardening is a smart thing to do, even if you’ve been wearing gloves.

 

Sources:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-06-gardening-legionnaire-disease.html

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/legionnaires-disease/home/ovc-20242041

https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/about/index.html

https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-planting-plant-169523/

Infection prevention

APIC 2017 Film Festival Winner: “Look at Me Hand Hygiene”

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APIC, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, announced the winner of its seventh annual Film Festival competition. The video, “Look at Me Hand Hygiene,” was created by Providence Health & Services Alaska, and stresses proper handwashing hygiene and techniques for hospital visitors and staff.

The video was chosen for its inventiveness, originality, general appeal, significance to the infection prevention community, and educational message.

The music video highlights the importance of thorough hand washing, stressing that hands should be washed for 20-25 seconds.

It also outlines W.L.S.R.D., which is  “wet, lather, scrub, rinse, dry,” as the basic steps for hand hygiene and infection prevention.

You can view all of the video submissions on the APIC website.

Brevis has also created multiple educational videos around hand hygiene. You can see them below.

Source: http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2017/06/apic-2017-film-festival-winner-highlights-hand-hygiene-as-infection-prevention-tool.aspx

 

 

Handwashing Saves Lives

Handwashing Steps: How Many Steps?

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In talking about handwashing steps, we often refer to guidelines from both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The recommendations from each organization are similar, but not identical. Is there a best method?

CDC instructions are, essentially, to soap up, scrub, and rinse, a process which takes around 35 seconds. To remember how long it should take, you can sing the alphabet song twice (how loudly you sing is completely up to you).

Handwashing Steps: How Many Steps to Good Hand Washing?

Image compliments of WHO

WHO recommendations are more involved, with specific steps, totaling about 42.5 seconds.

Researchers at the Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland studied 42 doctors and 78 nurses who used either the CDC or WHO techniques. Results of this study indicate the WHO method to have a slight edge when it comes to reducing average bacterial count on the hands of medical workers. Even so, it’s important to note that BOTH methods work very well and are effective at reducing the spread of germs.

Whether you’re a health worker, a food handler, a teacher, or someone reading this on a handheld device, it’s important to know you should wash your hands to help keep yourself and those around you healthy. Always get your hands wet first (don’t put soap on dry hands), and wash often.

You can conduct your own study on how effectively you and those around you are washing your hands with products like our GlitterBug Potion.

Products to Teach Handwashing

Sources:

Hand Hygiene, Handwashing Saves Lives, Infection prevention

My Five Moments for Hand Hygiene

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has included an easy strategy for hand hygiene improvement in the WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care (Advanced Draft). My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene defines key moments when health care workers ought to be engaging in hand hygiene.


Image courtesy of WHO:
http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/5Moments_Image.gif

Using this model, health care workers are reminded to clean their hands at the following times:

  1. Before touching a patient
  2. Before clean/aseptic procedures
  3. After body fluid exposure or risk
  4. After touching a patient
  5. After touching patient surroundings

Though the instruction may seem like a review of basic principles, it helps overcome misleading language and complicated descriptions. Easy to learn, logical, and widely applicable, My 5 Moments serves as a reminder of one of the most important things any health care worker can do to protect themselves and others from infection: practice proper hand hygiene.

Products to Teach Handwashing

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Handwashing Saves Lives

World Record-Breaking Hand Washing!

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Last October, a hospital in India claimed their place in the Guinness Book of World Records for hand washing.

Image courtesy of Kswownews: http://www.qswownews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Guinness-World-Record-in-hand-sanitization-e1493277263531-886×480.jpg

 

Kasturba Hospital, a unit of Manipal University, held a hand sanitation relay last October 15 in conjunction with Global Handwashing Day. One of the largest hospitals in India, Kasturba is the first medical college in Karnataka to be listed among the National Board for Accreditation of Hospitals (NABH), and is also listed by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP).

 

The attempt to break the previous Guinness record was part of an initiative to raise awareness about the importance of handwashing among health professionals. Not only did hospital staff and university students learn more about the importance of hand sanitation prior to any contact with patients, word of this simple practice spread throughout the community.

 

The record-breaking relay involved 3,422 people completing the task of washing hands throughout the day. The previous record was held by another hospital in India– Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Dehli– with 1,711 people having participated.

Image courtesy of NewsKarnataka: http://www.newskarnataka.com//fileman/Uploads/India/From%20the%20web/Kasturba_medical_college_5.jpg

 

Sources:

http://www.qswownews.com/2017/04/27/kasturba-hospital-manipal-university-enters-guinness-book/

http://www.brevis.com/blog/2016/10/global-handwashing-day/

Handwashing Saves Lives

Kindergartners In Medical School

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hand hygiene prevents infection

Kindergartners in Lebanon, Oregon, recently attended mini medical school at the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest. The COMP-Northwest program, now in its seventh year, provides four medical demonstration stations for the students with opportunities to learn about heart health, the skeletal system, and hand-washing techniques.

 

To demonstrate how to get their hands clean, Jess Reynolds said to the kids, “Let’s scrub up like surgeons.” The COMP-Northwest employee simulated germs by utilizing a fake dye on the children. With this visual, the children got an idea of how long it takes to thoroughly and effectively wash their hands.

 

The students then headed to the “operating room” where one kindergartener played the role of patient as the other young students learned while removing cloth versions of organs. Another station allowed the children to look at an x-ray of a hand with a broken finger.

 

Event organizer and COMP-Northwest Associate Director of Clinical Education Jeannie Davis explains it’s a day to give these children their first day of college, and it helps alleviate fear of doctors.

 

These kids have learned the importance of handwashing is on par with skeletal structure and organ function. Teach the kids in your life the same with GlitterBug Potion.  

Sources:

http://lebanon-express.com/news/local/kinders-learn-about-medicine-during-mini-med-school/article_d82ba905-50d6-5e84-b4eb-7a96e777c83e.html

http://www.brevis.com/blog/2016/09/glitterbug-potion/

http://www.brevis.com/blog/2016/08/glitterbug-gel-a-primer/

Handwashing Saves Lives

World Hand Hygiene Day 2017

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May 5 is World Hand Hygiene Day. Today the World Health Organization (WHO) reminds the world to “Fight antibiotic resistance—it’s in your hands.”

 

Hand hygiene is at the core of effective infection prevention and control programs, and actions today serve as a reminder to continue, as well as improve, best practices in this area.

 

WHO is calling for health workers to clean their hands at the right times, building on hand hygiene improvement efforts made up to now. CEOs, administrators, and managers should support hand hygiene campaigns, and infection prevention and control programs.

 

If you work in the healthcare field, we want to hear from you. What improvements have you seen in your workplace in regards to hand hygiene? What more could be done? Please let us know on our Facebook page. And join the online conversation with WHO by using #handhygiene and #antibiotic resistance.

 

Sources:

http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/en/

http://www.who.int/infection-prevention/campaigns/clean-hands/2017/en/

Infection prevention, Superbugs

Flu Pandemic: On Its Way?

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Are you a germophobe quiz

 

When we think of the flu we tend to think of the seasonal flu, the one that arrives in the fall and hangs around through spring, the virus for which we get our annual flu shot.

 

When we think of a pandemic, we think of a crisis situation, a worldwide outbreak.

 

Is a pandemic flu even possible? Not only is it possible, it’s happened before. And according to an article by CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, it will happen again in the next 20 to 30 years.  

 

In 1918 the Spanish Flu caused 20% to 40% of the world’s population to fall ill, and more than 50 million people died. The Asian Flu killed 2 million in 1958-59. The Hong Kong Flu resulted in the death of a million people, 34,000 of which were in the United States, between September, 1968, and March, 1969.

 

The good news is, we’re better prepared than we have been in the past. The ability to quickly identify viruses, and develop and produce vaccines has seen vast improvement in recent years. The most ideal situation to be prepared for the worst would mean partnerships between governments, collaboration between the private and public sectors, adequate research and funding, as well as the general acceptance and recognition of the likelihood of a flu pandemic in our lifetime. With these in place, it would be fitting to quote epidemiologist Larry Brilliant, who lead the effort to eradicate Small Pox: pandemics can be optional.

Of course, whether you find yourself with flu (seasonal flu is still around in spring months!) or if you’re simply trying to avoid getting sick, remember to wash your hands properly with soap and water to prevent the spread of germs, or use an antibacterial hand rub (sanitizer). Avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth is another way to avoid spreading germs, and when you’re sick, stay home as much as possible.

 

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/07/health/flu-pandemic-sanjay-gupta/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm

Handwashing Saves Lives

Hand Washing in Many Languages

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Accurate communication is crucial in providing health services. Employees in hospitals, clinics, and community health centers need to be able to reach individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) through language and understanding of culture.

 

One helpful resource is HealthReach, which provides quality multilingual, multicultural public health information for those who provide health care for individuals with LEP. Brochures, videos, toolkits, reports, and fact sheets are available to help improve the quality of service and communication efforts between providers and patients.

 

Hand washing, of course, is crucial in protecting ourselves and others from illness. This 4-page handout explains in detail the proper procedure for washing with soap and water (and drying!), and also using sanitizer, in both English and Traditional Chinese.

 

 

Having the instructions in both languages ensures clarity for both parties in communicating information as central to health as hand hygiene.

 

More information is available, including information available for print or download in more than 15 languages, at https://www.healthinfotranslations.org/.  

 

Sources:

https://healthreach.nlm.nih.gov/document/621/Hand-Washing

https://healthreach.nlm.nih.gov/about-healthreach

https://www.healthinfotranslations.org/pdfDocs/HandWashing_TCH.pdf

https://www.healthinfotranslations.org/

Infection prevention

Spring Cleaning for hand hygiene: sanitizing the areas we touch most often

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Spring Cleaning brevis
It’s that time of year again, time for spring cleaning! For you this might mean cleaning out your garage, or a complete closet overhaul. Whatever your situation, spring cleaning is also a great time for a routine deep-cleaning of some of the spots in your home most likely to accumulate germs.

 

It may not surprise you to know that a high concentration of germs is likely to be found in areas we frequently touch with our hands. We know washing our hands is the best way to prevent the spread of infection, so it’s easy to understand the need for cleanliness in areas we often touch with our hands.

 

Here are just five:

 

Bathroom Sinks Some studies suggest bathroom sinks are often dirtier than toilet seats! Use an antibacterial spray for a five-minute soak before wiping it down, and polish handles and spouts with vinegar.

 

Kitchen Countertops Before using and after meal prep, make sure your workspace is clean. How you clean it depends on the kind of countertop you have. While you’re at it, pay special attention to corners, and also any appliances you use.

 

Doorknobs and Drawer Handles Whether you’re coming in from outside or taking the trash out, a whole world of germs is daily introduced to doorknobs. Again, your cleaning method depends on the kind of knobs and handles you have (brass and silver, for example, require special cleaners), but clean these areas weekly.

 

Switchplates Turning a light on or off can be done in under one second, but think about how often we do this throughout the day. Use a warm, wet cloth with dish soap to clean switch plates once per week.

 

Devices and Screens These might be the most-touched– and least-cleaned– items in most homes. Do not get electronics wet while cleaning; when a damp cloth is needed, be sure to immediately dry. Use canned air or a microfiber cloth for keyboards. Touchscreen wipes can be used on cellphones and other screens.

 

If you haven’t already begun your spring cleaning, these are some good places to start. Keeping these areas clean reduces re-contamination of your hands.

 

 

Sources:

http://www.familycircle.com/home/cleaning/vanquish-the-germiest-spots-in-your-home-0/

https://www.cdc.gov/features/handwashing/


Photo courtesy of Pixabay:

https://pixabay.com/en/interior-villa-rendering-1026446/

Infection Prevention & Hand Hygiene Resources