How often should hands be cleaned when working with patients?

How often should hands be cleaned when working with patients?

• A. Only when hands feel dirty
• B. After removing gloves
• C. Before and after touching exposed skin
• D. Only after finishing the procedure

Answer: (C)

Hand hygiene is about stopping the spread of germs at key moments of patient care. Cleaning your hands before you touch a patient helps prevent passing organisms to them, and cleaning again after you’ve touched the patient or their skin removes any organisms you may have picked up, protecting you and others from transmission. Why not the other ideas? Waiting until hands feel dirty isn’t reliable because many pathogens aren’t visible or detectable by touch. Glove use doesn’t replace the need for hand hygiene—hands should be cleaned before donning gloves and after removing them, as gloves can have micro-tears or become contaminated. And cleaning only after finishing the procedure misses opportunities to prevent contamination during the interaction.

Hand hygiene is about stopping the spread of germs at key moments of patient care. Cleaning your hands before you touch a patient helps prevent passing organisms to them, and cleaning again after you’ve touched the patient or their skin removes any organisms you may have picked up, protecting you and others from transmission.

Why not the other ideas? Waiting until hands feel dirty isn’t reliable because many pathogens aren’t visible or detectable by touch. Glove use doesn’t replace the need for hand hygiene—hands should be cleaned before donning gloves and after removing them, as gloves can have micro-tears or become contaminated. And cleaning only after finishing the procedure misses opportunities to prevent contamination during the interaction.