Hand Hygiene in Hospital - Essay Example

Hand Hygiene in Hospital Name Institution Hand Hygiene in Hospital Hand washing is the most basic way of reducing infection through germ transfer in our day to day lives. Our hands are the number one carriers of vectors causing diseases in man. This is a do it yourself kind of immunsation procedure that involves the simplest of steps that is wetting your hands, applying soap on them, scrubbing them thoroughly, rinsing them and finally drying them with a clean towel or piece of tissue. Hand washing in hospital is of paramount importance since the hospital is the centre of treatment of all diseases (Bennett, Jarvis & Brachman, 2007). Health providers like the doctors, hospital food handlers and nurses need to practice this after examining each patient so as to prevent the transmission of infectious microorganisms from one patient to another. Regular cleaning or sanitization of hands and especially before and after all activities is one of the easiest ways of health promotion and especially in the hospital. When hands are washed before activities such as surgery or during child birth it lessens chances of the patient acquiring diseases such as tetanus or bacterial infections. Hand washing rids one of germs and bacteria and reduces the chances of others and one being sick. Washing hands with soap is important since soap is a disinfectant in itself. It has chloride properties that destroy bacteria once they are subjected to a solution of hydrogen and oxygen that is water. Soap can be in many forms fore example liquid, powder or even solid. It does not matter the kind of soap one uses as long as you use soap while cleaning your hands. Manufactures have come up with a new way of promoting hand washing by coming up with sanitizers that can be used even when one has no water (Gopal, Jeanes, Osman, Aylott & Green, 2002). This sanitizers can be used anywhere be it at home, hospitals, schools etc etc.They contain disinfecting properties which instantly kill microorganisms once they are rubbed over ones hands. This product comes in handy to doctors and especially before and after surgeries. They do this to rid themselves of microbes that they could pass to the patient and after surgery rid themselves of microbes from the patients. Microorganisms are very tiny and minute and can not be seen with the naked human eye and hence use of strong sanitizers to kill them is usually important and especially to those working in hospitals. Food handlers in the hospital also need to practice hand washing since they cook food for patients with compromised immune systems. This means that their immunity to fight off infections is relatively low and hence getting sick can be very easy. Nurses on the other hand come into contact with the patients bodies if they are not using gloves. This is the case if they are taking vital signs of patients during triaging. They touch patients to know if they have fevers and also during temperature taking.handwashing for them is highly recommended but since they can not do it after seeing every patient they are usually advised to use either sanitizers or gloves (Kirkland, Homa, Lasky, Ptak, Taylor, & Splaine, 2012). So as to prevent spread of organisms to other patients. To fully understand the importance of hand washing and especially in the hospital setting it is important to have knowledge of the normal bacteria that is the normal flora that covers the skin (Pittet, Panesar, Wilson, Longtin, Morris, Allan & Donaldson 2011). The skin is covered with microscopic bacteria and especially in areas such as the reproductive system, the respiratory system and the expiratory system that is the arm pits, scalp etc. This normal flora acts like a protective shield to the body preventing entry of microorganisms into the body. It is more of an immune system fighting of surface bacteria for the body. Once the normal flora is scraped off the skin, the skin becomes vulnerable and due to the breakage it provides away for bacteria to enter the body. There are two types of bacteria that exists in the skin of man that is the transient bacteria and the resident bacteria. The resident bacteria is normally found in the skin but the transient bacteria is usually acquired from other people or from surfaces. This particular bacteria can be washed away by normal washing of hands using soap and water. It is usually a bacteria that is associated with health workers due to the frequent contact with huge masses of people with different microorganisms (Pittet, 2001). The resident bacteria is usually deep into the skin that it cannot be removed by barely washing it with soap and water.it is usually consistent in one person but varies when it is passed on from person to another. Working in a hospital can be really hazardous since one comes into contact with so many microorganisms. This is during handling of patient’s waste products, from contact with patients with respiratory diseases, wounds that are bleeding or removing purse and septic wounds and other secretions. Bacteria hides beneath the finger tips and under nails in places where it cannot be easily washed off and that is why during hand washing people are advised to wash beneath their nails and in between their fingers thoroughly with soap or disinfectant. Patients with respiratory diseases are the most likely to come into contact with the care givers fingers and are hence prone to acquiring infections as compared to people with other diseases (Pittet, Panesar, Wilson, Longtin, Morris, Allan & Donaldson 2011). Care givers of children especially those who are infected with disease such as the Rift valley fever are also most likely to acquire infections which they can transmit to other people. The hospital is a microorganism hub that harbors a lot of organisms in every area. Infectious materials are everywhere even in the patient’s rooms, on their belongings, on hand rails, and in the air of the hospital basically everywhere in the hospital.Handwashing is therefore recommended to all people in the hospital environment since everywhere you touch is usually contaminated by one or more microorganism. To verify this theory a group of nurses were asked to touch moist groins of patients and then wash their hands with plain water and soap and then touch a clean culture material. The material showed presence of culture growing in it after some few minutes. This showed that microorganisms can survive even when subjected to basic hand washing practices such as washing hands with normal soap and water. It is thus recommended that soap used for washing hands be soap with antiseptic properties. Soap generally has its own antiseptic properties but they can be too mild to kill bacteria. Thus the standard solution that should be used for hand washing is a chloride solution. Chloride solution or alcohol solution disinfectants are the most recommended solutions to use and especially in the hospital setup. Studies have been shown that the practice of hand washing with this solutions by doctors and nurses has proved to reduce the transmission of diseases such as Klebsiella spp.It is not enough that they wash their hands once but the frequency of how they do t is also key in reducing the transmission of the disease vectors. During emergencies such as accidents and people crowding in one place for example in elevators or crowded trains or hospitals most people acquire infections from contact with dirty hands. Most people do not know the importance of hand washing and hence tend to neglect the act and thus increase the rate of organism transfer to other individuals. This transmission is mostly done through handshaking, touching of common places such as staircase rails, and other surfaces that everyone is likely to come into contact with. Prevalence of health care associated infections has shown to gradually go down when this practice is effectively done (Bennett, Jarvis & Brachman, 2007). This is proof that when the health care providers maintain maximum hygiene during and after consultations with patients the rare of transmission is relatively low. During peak seasons when patients are flocking into the hospital especially in time of cold weather when colds and respiratory infections are on the increase. There is a 25% increase in hand contact between the patients and the health care providers. This in turn increases the rate of transmission of microorganisms by 75% and thus the diseases prevalence is higher. Transmission among patients is also high since they discharge the vectors through coughing, sneezing and through use of wet handkerchiefs and especially when people do not practice hand hygiene. This study did not only demonstrate the association between workload and infections, but also highlighted the intermediate cause of antimicrobial spread. Poor adherence to proper hygiene can lead to major out breaks of disease for example Ebola, cholera and others just to name a few. In the recent past it was established that this diseases were highly propagated by people who were sick and did not practice proper hand washing after visiting the toilet and passively passing loose stool and urine (Gopal, Jeanes, Osman, Aylott & Green, 2002). There are some recommendations that health practitioners advise people on how to wash their hands. They have set out a standard procedure that should be practiced all over the world by everyone so as to reduce the rate of transmission of disease vectors from person to person. This practice is also recommended not just in hospitals but also in primary schools. This is because many students tend to pass on germs easily when they play games, when they eat food and mostly when they come out of the toilet. Most of them do not remember to wash their hands with soap and water or even wash their hands at all at all. This is the case even for most grown up people they do not remember to wash their hands even after visiting the toilet or even after doing dirty act ivies around the hospital From the feedback I realized am an extrovert I enjoy Peoples Company and find it very stimulating. I am a natural leader and can be very persuasive especially in a group setting. I can thrive in fast paced jobs and responsibility’s and am fuel by the thought of creativity and innovation. I can be impulsive which is good at times but at other times it can lead me to doing unproductive things. I work best under pressure and most times I prefer not doing tasks until it is almost deadline. I am agreeable and most times I tend to respect and consider the needs of other people. This is good but when it comes to making tough decisions in work places I becomes too challenging and most people tend to consider me soft hearted. One of my strengths is that I consider the feelings of my fellow team mates thus it is easy for me to make friends and maintain the harmony of the team. Working as a nurse in a busy hospital this qualities are very useful and especially in promoting hand washing hygiene especially in wards and in the maternity ward section. This is the most crucial area and especially in vector transfer. This is because there is so much contact with fluids and patients. Mothers who are delivering are the most vulnerable to infection since they have open wounds from the various child birth practices. In the wards most people are in contact with the belongings of the patient. Visitors coming baring gifts and food for the sick patient usually come with all sorts of bacteria’s and mix them with those of the patient during greetings. They leave with transient bacteria and thus as they exist the ward they should be advised to wash their hands thoroughly to avoid getting sick from acquired strains of normal flora from the hospital. References Bennett, J. V., Jarvis, W. R., & Brachman, P. S. (2007). Bennett & Brachman's hospital infections. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Gopal Rao, G., Jeanes, A., Osman, M., Aylott, C., & Green, J. (2002). Marketing hand hygiene in hospitals—a case study. Journal of Hospital Infection, 50(1), 42-47. Kirkland, K. B., Homa, K. A., Lasky, R. A., Ptak, J. A., Taylor, E. A., & Splaine, M. E. (2012). Impact of a hospital-wide hand hygiene initiative on healthcare-associated infections: results of an interrupted time series. BMJ quality & safety, 21(12), 1019-1026. Pittet, D. (2001). Improving adherence to hand hygiene practice: a multidisciplinary approach. Emerging infectious diseases, 7(2), 234. Pittet, D., Panesar, S. S., Wilson, K., Longtin, Y., Morris, T., Allan, V., ... & Donaldson, L. (2011). Involving the patient to ask about hospital hand hygiene: a National Patient Safety Agency feasibility study. Journal of Hospital Infection, 77(4), 299-303. Read More