Category Archives: Hand Hygiene

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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Hand Hygiene, Infection prevention

What About Drying Your Hands?

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Have you ever noticed someone exiting a restroom while shaking their wet hands? Is drying your hands important after you wash your hands? Maybe you’ve done it, too– you’ve taken the time to properly wash, but you’re in a hurry, and don’t want to take the extra time to get paper towels or stand near an air dryer.

Hand drying is an important part of hand hygiene, and shouldn’t be skipped. The reason is simple: germs can be transferred more easily to and from wet hands than dry hands.

Which method, then, should you choose? Should you dry your hands with towels (paper or otherwise), or use an air dryer? There isn’t conclusive research on this topic, as most studies compare residual microbes (not just germs) remaining on hands following different drying methods. Microbes are tiny living organisms which may or may not cause disease, and it has not been proven that removing microbes from hands is linked to better health.

What is clear, however, is the point that using a clean towel or air drying hands is the proper final step in effective hand-washing. So the next time you’re tempted to shake your hands dry or rub your hands on your clothes, pause and take the 60 seconds or so needed to face the world with clean, dry hands.

GlitterBug handwashing products

Source:
Show me the science handwashing (cdc.gov)

Hand Hygiene, Handwashing Saves Lives

3 essentials for effective handwashing

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Water.

Soap.

20 seconds.

That’s it.

Wash your hands — often. It’s single most important thing you can do to keep from getting sick. Scrubbing hands and wrists well is a must too, and then a good rinse. That’s all it takes.

Did you know people commonly catch colds when they rub their nose or their eyes after their hands have been contaminated with the cold virus? If you picked up germs from other people or from contaminated surfaces, you’ll get rid of them if you wash your hands well.

So parents–what can you do? Encourage children and others by setting a good example. Wash your hands properly in front of children to teach them that hand washing with soap and water is more than a chore — it’s an important way to prevent colds, sore throats and infections.

 

Hand Hygiene, Handwashing Saves Lives

Sing a Song About Hand-Washing

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Songs get stuck in our heads and we remember all sorts of things, from useless lyrics, to rules of grammar (Schoolhouse Rock, Anyone?). We use a song to teach the alphabet to children, so why not use songs to teach other important information?

Nigerian pop singer Sunny Neji decided to use his influence to help teach people the importance of hand hygiene. “People love music, so if I could construct a lovely melody and put in some memorable words, it could stick in people’s minds faster.”

The result? An upbeat song called, “Wash Your Hands O!”

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Lyrics like, “Prevention is cheaper than cure,” or, “Dirty hands, they carry disease,” will likely make kids and adults smile or even laugh, but you have to admit: the message is clear, and the tune is catchy.

Read more about this song here.

**Reminder: LAST DAYS OF THE BREVIS SALE!
From now through October 31, 2016, use the code “Fall16” to get a 10% discount on orders over $25.00

Sources:

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/10/14/497701330/some-singers-sing-about-love-he-sings-about-hand-washing

 

 

Hand Hygiene, Handwashing Saves Lives

Happy Hands for Students

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Educators know that keeping hands clean is one of the best things kids can do to prevent illness and the spreading of germs to others. Brevis products like GlitterBug Gel and GlitterBug Potion provide fun ways for kids to learn the effectiveness of handwashing techniques.

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Right now there’s another way to get kids excited about hand hygiene. Deb’s Happy Hands Contest educates students about the importance of handwashing while giving them a chance to show their artistic creativity by submitting original designs to be featured on soap dispensers.

Educators can register their school on the website, and submit their students’ designs by December 5. Top finalists in three categories (elementary, middle, and high school) will be announced January 16, and public voting will be open for one month. Winners will be announced March 1, 2017.

Each winning design receives three prizes: a $500 donation to the winning student’s school, a $200 gift card for the student, and up to 500 soap dispensers to display the winning design in the school.

Getting kids involved in hand hygiene awareness in creative, memorable ways– whether through a dispenser design contest, or a GlitterBug demonstration— is a win for everyone.

 

**SPECIAL NOTE:

Brevis is offering a promo-code discount for Fall 2016 that will start Sept. 20 and go through October 31, 2016.

The promo code is “Fall16” which will apply a 10% discount to orders over $25.00.

 

Sources:

http://info.debgroup.com/happyhands

http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/

http://www.debgroup.com/us

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

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

http://www.brevis.com/blog/2016/08/back-to-school-with-glitterbug/

 

Hand Hygiene, Infection prevention

FDA Ban on Antibacterial Soap?

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You may have heard recently that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a ban on certain ingredients found in antibacterial soaps and washes. What exactly does this mean?

 

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Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research explained, “Consumers may think antibacterial washes are more effective at preventing the spread of germs, but we have no scientific evidence that they are any better than plain soap and water.”

 

Essentially, by using products labeled as antibacterial, many consumers think they’re receiving health benefits that simply aren’t there. In fact, according to a paper published in 2007, regularly using antibacterial soaps may be linked, over time, to the growth of a dangerous drug-resistant bacteria. Researchers concluded, “Further studies of this issue are encouraged.”

 

One co-author of the paper noted, “…the public still has the option of using hand sanitizers, which work faster and better than the current consumer ‘antibacterial’ soaps….”

 

Back in 2013, the FDA proposed a rule requiring manufacturers of antibacterial hand soaps and body washes to prove their products were more effective than plain soap and water. No data establishing safety and effectiveness of these products was provided.

 

Companies affected have almost a year to either remove the ingredients from their products (triclosan and triclocarban are the most commonly used chemicals) or no longer market their products before the final rule goes into effect September 6, 2017.

 

In the meantime, you can rest easy knowing that your hand sanitizer and soap don’t need to be labeled as ‘antibacterial’ in order to be effective. Just make sure you’re still washing your hands!

 

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/02/health/fda-bans-antibacterial-soap/index.html

https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2016-21337.pdf


SPECIAL NOTE:
Brevis is offering a promo-code discount for Fall 2016 that will start Sept. 20 and go through October 31, 2016.
The promo code is “Fall16” which will apply a 10% discount to orders over $25.00.

Contaminated Water, Hand Hygiene

What We Can Learn from Rio’s Contaminated Water Situation

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The 2016 Olympics have come to a close and many are continuing a discussion which has been going on since before the games began: What’s the deal with Rio’s contaminated water?

olympia-1539043_1280

The world watched as athletes competed in water visibly tainted and unclear. However, It was clear that their methods of water sanitation and their push to clean the water permanently were unsuccessful.

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) advises the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Local Organizing Committee (LOC) on health issues related to the games. Recommendations for this year’s games included water quality testing in recreational waters, particularly those used by athletes competing in sailing, rowing, canoeing, and swimming events. Most common of illnesses associated with polluted recreational water exposure is mild gastroenteritis. Others include respiratory infections, and skin and ear infections.  

 

And yet most athletes were able to stay healthy despite unsatisfactory water conditions. How did they do it? Andy Hunt, CEO of the governing body World Sailing, reported on precautions taken by sailors in Rio. “Everyone has been very careful in using hand hygiene, washing down clothing, boats, and so on.”

 

Avoiding exposure to contaminated water isn’t always possible, especially while traveling. The general well-being of the athletes throughout the games only validates what we already know: proper hand hygiene is key in preventing illness.

 

Sources:

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/water-quality/recreational/rio-water-quality-qa-julyupdate.pdf?ua=1

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/bathing/statement-rio-water-quality/en/

http://www.wkbw.com/sports/olympics/rio-2016/water-to-remain-filthy-in-rio-after-olympics

https://pixabay.com/en/olympia-summer-olympics-1539043

Glitterbug, Hand Hygiene, Handwashing Saves Lives

GlitterBug Gel: A Primer

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Having clean hands is always important, but using soap and water isn’t always practical. In hospital and other patient care situations, as health care workers move from one patient to another, a soap-and-water washing doesn’t always contribute to overall time-effectiveness.

 

Hand sanitizer (also referred to as alcohol-based handrub) is a well-researched, efficacious product which is considered to fulfill the highest standards of safety in regards to infection prevention. Its creation and widespread availability has revolutionized modern hand hygiene practices.

 

If you use hand sanitizer, GlitterBug Gel is a great product for you. It teaches and evaluates the effectiveness of how hand sanitizer is applied. It looks and feels like sanitizer, and though it’s 60% alcohol, it doesn’t kill germs. Simply apply as you would regular hand sanitizer, and check under the light. Any glowing areas on your hands indicate a thorough application of sanitizer.

 

Watch this quick video to see how it’s done:

Use GlitterBug Gel to help you see how well your hand sanitizer is working.

 

Source: http://www.who.int/gpsc/tools/faqs/system_change/en/