Prevention is better than cure

It is estimated that more than 50 to 70 percent of all healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are spread through contaminated hands. It is time to focus on the other 30 to 50 percent, a part of which might be linked to environmental transmission. After all, “hands are really just another highly mobile surface in healthcare that are commonly contaminated and rarely disinfected.”

Hand hygiene is the #1 way to stop the spread of disease and infections. Promoting proper hygiene can protect not only your patients but your staff as well. Washing your hands is the best and easiest preventative measure to take. Doctorclean has provided a simple way to remind those in your facility of the importance of proper hand health.

hospital installed hand sanitizer dispenser wall mounted

Prevention is always better and less expensive than a cure, especially when the world is running out of antibiotics. It is imperative to develop a new and more efficient model for hospital environmental hygiene maintenance. Although many hospitals are quick to spend money on new software, specialized staff, and fancy equipment, they often look at maintaining a safe, clean, and disinfected environment as an opportunity to save in the budget.

We know that one of the modes of disease transmission is accomplished by touching a contaminated surface (we call these fomites) and then touching a mucous membrane (eyes, nose, or mouth). Infection prevention can be accomplished by following a structured and reproducible process every time patient-care equipment or area is hygienically cleaned.

hygiene, healthcare center, hand

Did you know that in many healthcare facilities there persists a view that considers hand hygiene separately from other cleaning and disinfection procedures?

Detergent-based cleaning of hands is seen to reduce contamination to a level considered as safe. But detergent-based cleaning of environmental surfaces, particularly in healthcare facilities (HCF) is regarded as the means to remove soil prior to application of a disinfectant.

The fact that, as with hand hygiene, cleaning itself contributes to achieving safety target levels on surfaces. A disinfectant kills microbes. However, depending on the pathogen, preventing the microbes from getting a foothold by removing food and moisture (two essentials for sustaining living organisms) may, in the long-term, be as effective as a chemical disinfectant.

Fear of infection encourages the use of powerful disinfectants for the elimination of real or imagined pathogens in hospitals. Not only do these agents offer false assurance against contamination, but their disinfection potential also cannot be achieved without the prior removal of organic soil.

The guiding principle is always to remove germs if possible, rather than kill them, and then, when necessary, use the least amount of the mildest chemical because stronger often means more toxic to humans and the environment.

The efficacy of hygiene procedures involving removal (e.g., detergent-based cleaning) is rarely (if ever) compared with those involving inactivation (e.g., disinfectant use) even though both are intended to produce the same result. Detergent-based cleaning is cheaper than using disinfectants and much less toxic to humans and is less corrosive to surfaces. If hygiene procedures are to deliver real health and safety benefits, we need a consistent approach based on scientific principles, which can be applied across all settings.

Above article is obtain from https://www.healthcarefacilitiestoday.com/posts/Prevent-Infections-Rather-Than-Have-To-Cure-Them–26365