Hand washing is the process of cleaning hands with water and soap or other special liquids.

It is done to
take off dirt, germs, and poisons. Germs and poisons cause diseases and other health problems. Germs
are bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Some diseases are not stopped by antibiotic drugs. Hand washing
prevents lots of new disease. Not washing hands before cooking or touching food is risky.

Purpose of Medical Handwashing

Hand washing

The purpose of hand washing, whether it be medical or personal, is to prevent the cross
contamination of micro-organisms and disease from one person or surface to another.

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Significance

 Proper hand washing is the cleansing of hands with a soap or other hand hygiene agent to
remove soil or microorganisms from the hands and wrists.

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How to Do Proper Medical Hand Washing
Hand washing is simply the best way to prevent organisms from spreading. It is the most
effective procedure in eliminating nosocomial or hospital-acquired infections. Read on to learn
how to do proper medical hand washing.

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Instructions
 1

Understand that the sink is considered a contaminated area. So when standing in front of the
sink, be careful not to let your uniform touch its surface.

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 2
Remove any jewelry (except for wedding bands). Microorganisms are likely to accumulate on
the areas where the jewelry is set. So removing it will help in easing up proper cleaning of the
area.

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 3

When turning the faucet on, make sure to adjust its force without splashing you. Water splashed
from a contaminated sink will only transfer microorganisms on your uniform or directly on your
skin.

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 4

Wet your hands up to the wrist area. Keep you arms diagonal, with your hands lower than your
elbows to allow the water to run down to your fingertips. The flow of water should be directed
from a cleaner area to a more contaminated area. In this case, hands are more contaminated than
the forearms. So let the water flow from the wrist down to the fingers.

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 5

Lather your hands with bar soap, rinse the bar and place it back on the dish. By rinsing the bar
with water, it will remove the foam that may contain microorganisms. If you are using liquid
soap, pour an amount equivalent to 1 tsp. and then lather.

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Scrub your hands firmly and do it with circular motions. Friction caused from rubbing the hands
together will loosen up the dirt and organisms present. Scrub the palms and back of your hands.
Then proceed with each finger, the areas in between fingers, the knuckles, wrist area, up to the
forearms. When doing the forearms, wash as high as the area where contaminants are likely to be
present.

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 7
Do the hand scrubbing and circular motions for 10 to 30 seconds. But if your hands are
extremely dirty, then do these motions longer.

 8

Use a brush to clean surfaces under the fingernails or you can just use the fingernails of one hand
to scrape the dirt off the fingernails of the other hand. Fingernails are likely the place for
organisms to easily settle so it is important to clean these areas to prevent bacteria from
spreading.

 9

Rinse thoroughly and closely examine your hands for remaining dirt or foam.

 10

Dry hands with towel immediately to avoid skin chapping. If your skin dries up from the type of
soap used, apply lotion on the area to moisten it and to keep it soft.

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