How to Wash Your Hands

People Most at Risk from Poor Hand Hygiene 

• Premature and NICU Babies
• Newborns
• Young children
• Women who are pregnant
• Patients in the hospital
• Immunocompromised Patients - Those with AIDS, Cancer
• Transplant Patients
• Elderly

When should you wash your hands? 

• After going to the bathroom
• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has gone to the bathroom
• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• After handling an animal or animal waste
• After handling an animal or animal waste
• After handling garbage
• Before and after treating a cut or wound
• Before and after tending to someone who is sick
• Before preparing or eating food

Recommendations on When to Wash Hands...Before 

• Before eating
• Before and after treating wounds or cuts
• Before and after touching a sick or injured person
• Before and after preparing food, especially before and immediately after handling raw meat, poultry or fish
• Before inserting or removing contact lenses
• Before and after using public restrooms (gas stations, restaurants, airports, train stations and bus stations)

Recommendations on When to Wash Hands...After 

1. After using the bathroom
2. After blowing your nose
3. After coughing or sneezing into your hands
4. After touching animals or animal waste
5. After handling garbage
6. After changing a diaper - wash the diaper-wearer's hands, too
7. After cleaning up a child who has gone to the bathroom
8. After using public restrooms (gas stations, restaurants, airports, train stations and bus stations)

Basic Hand Washing Techniques 

1. Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
2. Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
3. Continue rubbing hands for 20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing "Happy Birthday" twice through to a friend!
4. Rinse hands well under running water.
5. Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.

Six Step Hand Washing Technique 

1. Roll up sleeves and wet hands with warm water.
2. Using soap, not a hand sanitizer solution, work up a soapy lather that covers hands and forearms.
3. Rub hands together for at least 20 seconds: make sure to wash palms, back of hands, between fingers, and forearms.
4. Use a fingernail brush to clean under fingernails and between fingers.
5. Rinse hands and forearms in warm water.
6. Dry hands with single-use paper towels or cloth roller towel. Turn off the faucet with paper towels to prevent re-contamination of hands.

How to Perform a Surgical Scrub 

• Remove all jewelry (rings, watches, bracelets).
• Wash hands and arms with anitmicrobial soap. Excessively hot water is harder on the skin, dries the skin, and is too uncomfortable to wash with for the recommended amount of time. However, because cold water prevents soap from lathering properly, soil and germs may not be washed away.
• Clean subungual (under the nails) areas with a nail file.
• Start timing. Scrub each side of each finger, between the fingers, and the back and front of the hand for two minutes.
• Proceed to scrub the arms, keeping the hand higher than the arm at all times. This prevents bacteria-laden soap and water from contaminating the hand.
• Wash each side of the arm to three inches above the elbow for one minute.
• Repeat the process on the other hand and arm, keeping hands above elbows at all times. If the hand touches anything except the brush at any time, the scrub must be lengthened by one minute for the area that has been contaminated.
• Rinse hands and arms by passing them through the water in one direction only, from fingertips to elbow. Do not move the arm back and forth through the water.
• Proceed to the operating room suite holding hands above elbows.
• Once in the operating room suite, hands and arms should be dried using a sterile towel and aseptic technique. You are now ready to don your gown and sterile gloves.