Bacteriological aspects of hand washing: A key for health promotion and infections control

Abstract

The aim of this review is to show the historical aspects of hands washing for healthy life and explains how can reduce the transmission of community-acquired infectious agents by healthcare workers and patients. This review article is prepared based on available database. The key words used were hands washing, risk assessment, hands hygiene, bacterial flora, contamination, infection, nosocomial, tap water, sanitizer, bacterial resistance, hands bacterial flora, washing methods, antiseptics, healthcare workers, healthcare personnel, from PubMed, ScienceDirect, Embase, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Google Scholar. Data were descriptively analyzed. The insistence on hand washing has a history of 1400 years. The research results indicate that the bacteria released from the female washed hands in wet and dry condition was lower than from the male's hands with a significance level (3 CFU vs. 8 CFU; confidence interval 95%, P ≤ 0.001). The valuable results of the study indicated that released amount of bacterial flora from wet hands is more than 10 times in compared to dry hands. In addition, established monitoring systems for washing hands before and after patient's manipulation as well as after toilet were dominant indices to prevent the transfer of infectious agents to the patients. Increasing awareness and belief of the healthcare workers have shown an important role by about 30% reduction in the transfection. Hand washing could reduce the episodes of transmission of infectious agents in both community and healthcare settings. However, hand washing is an important key factor to prevent transmission of infectious agents to patients. There is no standard method for measuring compliance. Thus, permanent monitoring of hand washing to reduce the transmission of infections is crucial. Finally, the personnel must believe that hand washing is an inevitable approach to infection control.

Perceptual and cognitive determinants of tactile disgust

“…In line with this adherence-quality explanation, Oum et al’s (2011) study found wetness was the most predictive tactile property of sickness-likelihood ratings, suggesting wet (adhering textures) are perceived as more contaminating and sickness inducing than dry (nonadhering) textures. Similarly, hand-washing literature shows that drying hands (after washing) leads to a 10-fold reduction in the spread of microbial flora, providing evidence that wet (adhering) textures facilitate disease growth significantly more than dry textures (Ataee, Ataee, Tavana, & Salesi, 2017). Paralleling the chemical senses, aversion to adhering textures may occur early in development, and be the first sign of tactile disgust.…”

Has the COVID 19 Virus Changed Adherence to Hand Washing among Healthcare Workers?

“…Numerous studies tested the knowledge, attitudes, and HH compliance among healthcare workers (HCWs), through questionnaires or by direct observation of the HCWs behavior [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. It was reported that the growing awareness of HCWs on the importance of hand washing causes a reduction of about 30% in the transmission of infectious agents [ 11 ].…”

Decision-Making in Health and Fitness

“…The use of seatbelts has significantly reduced injury and death in vehicular accidents due to laws, high visibility enforcement, and fines, and promoting positive beliefs (22). The importance of hand washing education to help prevent infections has occurred throughout most populations (23). Promotion of self-care has also been effective in such areas as breast cancer screening behavior (24), and gestational anemia (25).…”