Hand hygiene- a cheap, simple & effective means to prevent varied infections

Wednesday, 05 May 2021 | Dr. Gaurav Sanjay | Dehradun

GUEST COLUMN

Dr. Gaurav Sanjay

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared May 5 as Hand Hygiene Day.  This year the theme of world hygiene day is “seconds save lives-clean your hands”. It is the day to raise awareness on making soap and water available globally especially in public places. The patients and their family members are encouraged to join health workers in their effort to practice good hand hygiene.

According to WHO, every year millions of patients around the world are dying due to infection. More than half of the infections can be prevented by proper cleaning of the hands specially before eating food, after using the toilet and before and after touching the patient. Hand hygiene is the act of cleaning the hands with water and soap or any other cleaning agent. The purpose of cleaning the hands is to clean the soil, dirt and/or pathogens and chemicals stuck to the skin which can make us and others ill. Hand hygiene is very important for food handlers,  medical staff and the patients too.

The importance of hand hygiene has been known in Indian culture for centuries, therefore, there had been arrangement for washing the hands and feet at homes and religious places. The importance of hand hygiene has being emphasised vigorously worldwide by government and non-governmental organisations during the Covid-19 pandemic. Practice of hand hygiene is more relevant in the current scenario when more than 150 million have been infected and more than three million people have died worldwide. More than 18 million have been infected and more than 2,00,000 have died in India as of today due to Covid-19 viral infection. The Covid pandemic has elicited tremendous attention on hand hygiene which has gained social and political recognition worldwide during this period.

There are some problems with the practice of hand hygiene like availability of continuous running clean water and a cleansing agent. The adequate infrastructure for hand hygiene should be provided and maintained at the all public places like railway stations, bus stands, religious places, schools and hospitals.

The habit of hand hygiene should be inculcated in homes and in schools. It should be an essential part of the primary education curriculum. Once any habit is formed it difficult to change. The importance of hand hygiene and technique of hand washing should be taught to children in simple words and simple way. If the cleaning of hands is done in a group and in a play mode, then, children will acquire it faster.

The quality of care and patient safety is an important aspect of the health care services. Infection is detrimental to good health and especially after surgery. Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI) are the life threatening infections which are causing significant human and financial loss. Hundreds of thousands of people are dying worldwide from hospital acquired infection.  Sadly this number is many times more in developing and poor countries including India.Nearly 80 per cent of your exposures to germs occurs through touch. Most of the HAI are commonly transmitted when hospital staff become complacent and do not practice correct hand hygiene regularly. Since medical staff moves from patient to patient, they themselves serve as a carrier for spreading pathogens. Essentially, the staff members act as a vector. About five per cent of patients admitted to hospitals in the United States develop hospital acquired infection and five per cent (one lakh) of them die each year. Considering the socio-economic conditions in our country, the situation could be worse. A scientific review of studies performed also revealed that hospital acquired infection are on rise in our country. Sometimes it becomes impossible to control it in spite of the best efforts of all stakeholders (patient, family, doctor and staff). The age old dictum of “prevention is better than cure” holds true in case of HAI and it should be the endeavour of all stakeholders to tackle the menace of HAI. Hand hygiene is of paramount importance to prevent hospital infection.

Overcrowding in patient’s room and poor personal hygiene of patient and medical personnel are two important causes of infection. Isolation and personal hygiene of the patient and staff have been proven to prevent infection and ultimately to reduce morbidity, mortality and healthcare cost.It is best to avoid visiting hospitals except when absolutely necessary to prevent infection. The hospitals are also social organisations. Kindly cooperate for your benefit and that of the hospital, society and nation. At any time only authorised person should visit the patient. Visitors should be only from immediate family and close friends, who play an important role in taking decision for the treatment.

The habit of hand washing will contribute a lot to the personal hygiene while also serving society because humans learn by copying each other, especially in the bigger organisations like schools and hospitals. Good hand washing with soap before eating and after using the toilet can save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention. Hand hygiene and hand washing can play an important and critical role in prevention and control of infection and to achieve universal health coverage as envisaged by World Health Organisation.This year WHO calls on health workers and facilities to achieve effective hand hygiene action at the point of care. The point of care refers to the place three elements come together- the patient, the health care worker and care or treatment involving contact with the patient and their soundings. There are five specific moments- before touching the patient, before clean/ asceptic procedure, after body fluid exposure/ risk, after touching the patient and after touching patient’s surroundings.

Hand hygiene is one of the most effective actions to reduce the spread of Covid-19 virus. The simple habit of hand washing will not only increase the longevity of an individual but will also improve the quality of life of an individual. When we, as an individual will be healthy, then our family, society and nation will be healthier and happier.

(The author is an orthopaedic surgeon based in Dehradun)