Hand Hygiene Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hand Hygiene - Article Example Medicinenet.com (2007) defined hygiene as "The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health. From the name of Hygeia, the daughter of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine (whose staff with entwined snake is the symbol of medicine). Asklepios (known to the Romans as Aesculapius) had a number of children including not only Hygeia but also Panaceia, the patroness of clinical medicine. Hygeia also followed her father into medicine. As the patroness of health, Hygeia was charged with providing a healthy environment to prevent illness. In Greek, "hygieia" means health." It is a fact that, the hands is the most exposed external part of the body, primarily, it is because of the things that hands, is the body part that holds different things regardless of whether clean or not. Specifically, it is the function of this body part. If it is established that hands are the parts that hold and touch different things. During the duration of holding and touching different things, hands are exposed to different viruses and bacteria, including toxins and other chemicals which are harmful to the health of a certain person. However, these harmful elements cannot penetrate the human body without entering the entry points to the internal area of the body. This can be made possible by eating without washing the infected hand, penetration of these harmful elements on pores and nails which can cause possible internal and external infection should these elements are present in the hands.Also, in different hospitals and medical institutions wherein nurses and doctors sometimes are attending more than one patient contamination of germs and diseases if possible and can be transmitted from one patient to the other and even these medical practitioner and staff if these health workers don't practice hand hygiene. Basically, if hea lth workers are not observing hand hygiene, how could one expect an ordinary individual to practice the aforementioned hygiene The website medscape.com (2001) pointed out that "The challenge of hand hygiene promotion could be summarized in one question: How can health-care workers' behavior be changed Tools for change are known; some have been tested, and others need to be tested. Some may prove irrelevant in the future; others have worked in some institutions and need to be tested in others. Infection control professionals should promote and conduct outstanding research and provide solutions to improve health-care worker adherence with hand hygiene and enhance patient safety." In adopting hand hygiene, one must understand that applying the principle doesn't rely on the washing and sanitizing of hands alone. It is in the way how hands are being utilized to contain and hold several harmful elements. Instead of containing such elements with bare hands, the use of gloves is also an important part of hand hygiene to protect one's self. There are a lot of things to be considered in order to imply and practice hand hygiene in several manners. The Department of Health and Human Services of the United States stressed the needs of using hand gloves on infected patients directing that "A single pair of patient care gloves should be worn for contact with blood and body fluids, including during hand contact with respiratory secretions (e.g., providing oral care, handling soiled tissues). Gloves made of latex, vinyl, nitrile, or other synthetic materials are