The simplest is often the most effective
Sometimes, everyday activities seem so commonplace that we stop noticing their impact on our lives. Hand washing and sanitizing are a good example of such activities—especially since they’ve become a habit during the coronavirus pandemic. Yet these actions provide significant protection against common illnesses, and scientists from around the world are researching, among other things, the most effective ways to sanitize hands. On Global Hand Hygiene Day, we’re showing you how to properly sanitize your hands and why it’s so important!
It all began centuries ago, when the 19th-century surgeon and obstetrician Ignaz Semmelweis noticed that the disease decimating patients in the hospital ward he managed was spreading through the contaminated hands of doctors. Doctors performing autopsies were transferring infections from the corpses to patients through their contaminated hands. Semmelweis then introduced a hand hygiene protocol (disinfecting hands with chlorinated water) and dramatically—by about 10 times—reduced the mortality rate of women from puerperal fever. And although the medical community of the time did not believe that this simple method had a decisive impact on reducing the number of infections, history has confirmed the validity of this 19th-century visionary’s thesis. He was honored posthumously—the University of Budapest was named after him—and the ideas of this physician were continued and proven by the British surgeon Joseph Lister1. Today, scientists from Switzerland have taken up the baton.
A new hand sanitizing method for our times?
Have you ever wondered where you’re most likely to “encounter” the greatest number of various disease-causing pathogens? The answer is simple! Wherever we deal with the highest number of illnesses—that is, in healthcare facilities. If you have a doctor’s appointment coming up soon, there’s no need to worry. Medical staff, who have been dealing with bacteria, viruses, fungi, and spores for years, know exactly how to eliminate them and minimize the risk of infection. Hand washing and disinfection are among the basic procedures performed by hospital and clinic staff to ensure their own safety and that of their patients. The World Health Organization also emphasizes their importance, having launched Global Hand Hygiene Day many years ago. Its goal is to promote hand hygiene as one of the most effective methods of preventing disease.
Recently, a new method of hand disinfection has emerged in the medical community, which we can also successfully apply in everyday life. At the University Hospital of Basel in Switzerland, researchers conducted highly reliable studies on hand disinfection methods. They randomly selected 12 hospital wards, half of which were to use the existing six-step technique, and half the new three-step method. Both techniques require the use of 3 ml of hand sanitizer and 30 seconds of hand rubbing. The six-step technique was developed in the 1970s by a team of researchers from Birmingham, including microbiologist Graham Ayliffe, after whom the method itself was named—the Ayliffe Technique. It was adopted by British hospitals and approved by the World Health Organization in 2009. Each of the six steps of the Ayliffe technique involves five “back-and-forth” movements and covers different areas of the hands. The new three-step technique, on the other hand, consists of: 1. moistening the entire surface of the hands with an alcohol-based sanitizer (based on your own assessment), 2. rubbing the fingertips of one hand in a circular motion against the palm of the other hand, 3. rubbing both thumbs in a circular motion. Simple? You bet! But does it really work?
Swiss researchers have proven that the new hand sanitizing method eliminates pathogens just as effectively as the six-step technique. At the same time, it’s simpler—tests showed that compliance with the three-step method in practice reached 54.3%, while for the six-step technique it was only 16.4%.
Disinfection technique and product quality are key
In addition to the hand disinfection technique itself, the quality of the product used is also crucial in this process. Meanwhile, in public spaces—in stores, schools, and sports facilities—one can encounter pseudo-disinfection, i.e., liquids of unknown origin poured into applicators that previously held professional biocidal products. This group also includes products with a “moonshine”-like odor that are highly irritating to the skin, sold in unlabeled containers.
For this reason, the Supreme Chamber of Nurses and Midwives, together with manufacturers of professional disinfectants—including MEDISEPT, Poland’s largest producer of medical-grade disinfectants—is running a public awareness campaign titled “Disinfection, Yes, but Not Just Anyhow.” We encourage you to watch the video, in which experts advise on how to avoid being misled and choose effective and safe disinfectants.
For more information on infection prevention, visit www.medisept.pl
