HAND WASHING
RATIONALE
1.
2.
Place hand towel on non-dominant shoulder.
Assess hands. Remove your watch and jewelry.
3.
Open/turn on the faucet. Wet hands.
Provide complete access to fingers, hands
and wrists. Microorganisms can lodge in
the setting of jewelry. Removing facilitates
proper cleaning of the hands and arms.
Running
water
rinses
dirt
and
microorganisms away into the sink.
Wet hands thoroughly before applying
soap to facilitate removal of pathogen.
4.
Soap hands forming a good lather. If bar soap is Soap cleanses by emulsifying fat and oil
used, place soap in between palms. If liquid soap, and lowering surface tension.
place 2 - 5 ml. of liquid soap on the palm.
5.
A. Palm to Palm
6.
B. Right hand over left dorsum and vise versa
7.
C. Palm to palm fingers interlaced
8.
D. Backs of fingers to opposing palms with fingers
interlocked
9.
E. Rub thumb in a rotating manner followed by the Rotational or circular action helps remove
area between index finger & thumb for both hands.
microorganisms mechanically.
10.
F. Rotational
backward.
11.
Rub both wrist in rotating manner.
12.
Keep hands away from the sink. Rinse hands Inside the sink is a contaminated area.
thoroughly.
Reaching over sink increases risk of
touching edge which is contaminated.
13.
Keep hand lower than arms to observe the principle
from the “CLEANEST TO THE DIRTIEST"
14.
Dry thoroughly from finger to wrist.
15.
Close/turn off the faucet using your hand towel Placing barrier between the fingers and the
placing a barrier between your hands and the faucet. faucet prevents the transmission of
microorganism.
rubbing
Friction and rubbing mechanically loosen
and removes dirt and transient bacteria.
of
palms
Interlacing the fingers and thumbs cleans
the interdigital spaces and ensures that all
surfaces are cleaned.
forward
and
Drying from cleanest (fingertips) to least
clean forearms area avoids contamination.
Drying hands prevent chapping and
roughened skin.