Gabriela Quintana
Nova Southeastern University
Hand Washing by Healthcare Professionals People may take for granted hand washing, but what many people do not know are the benefits that just a twenty second hand wash can provide to them and to others. Although, hand washing may appear as an ineffective way of cleansing to some people it is one of the most effective ways of preventing propagation of viral and micro bacterial diseases. Not only average people must wash their hands to prevent diseases, but also health care professionals must be aware of the significance of sanitation through hand washing in their working area. It is inexcusable to have health care professionals committing these types of errors that can be life defying. Healthcare professionals must take consciousness and responsibility on their hand hygiene and it is imperative for hospitals to take disciplinary actions to control the spread of disease by their team work.
History of Hand Washing The hand washing concern began during the XIX century in Budapest with Doctor Ignaz Philipp Semelweiss, an obstetrician, who concludes after many years of observation that dirty hands where vehicles of cross contamination and transmission of diseases. Doctor Oliver Wendell Holmes was another pioneer on the hand washing research. Both doctors were recognized for their studies research. After many years of research on 1981, hand washing guidelines came out as the most important and simple technique to prevent diseases (Bejerke, 2004). Nowadays, the use of hand washing is know as the best way to avoid no only the prevention of disease but also was incorporated as an essential hygiene activity of any individual.
Importance of Hand Washing Hand washing is know as a increasingly evolving practice which must be used by any individual as a single routine and can be compared in importance as childhood vaccination in the prevention of diseases. Hand washing should
References: Bjerke, N.B. (2004). The evolution handwashing to hand hygiene guidance. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly/July-September 2004, 27(3), 295-307. Pirie, S. (2010). Hand washing and surgical hand antisepsis. Open Learning Zone, 20(5), 169-172.