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How often do you wash your hands?  Transfer of germs from the hands is one of the most common pathways to pass on disease.  Our hands touch many things that may not be clean and if we touch someone or something else afterwards, the germs on our hands can be transmitted to that person or item.  Good hand hygiene limits this transmission of germs.  You can wash your hands with soap and water or if your hands are not visibly soiled, you can use an alcohol-based handrub to disinfect your hands.

In the healthcare setting, hand hygiene is of the utmost importance.  Hand Hygiene Australia, together with the World Health Organization, have developed 5 moments for hand hygiene in the healthcare setting:

1. We clean our hands before touching the patient and their immediate surroundings to limit the passing of germs from our hands to the patient.

2. We clean our hands immediately before doing treatment on the patient to limit the passing of germs from our hands to the patient during treatment.

3. We clean our hands immediately after doing treatment on the patient to limit the passing of germs from the patient to ourselves and our surroundings via our hands.

4. We clean our hands after touching the patient and their immediate surroundings to limit the passing of germs from the patient to ourselves and our surroundings via our hands.

5. We clean our hands after touching any items in the patient’s immediate surroundings to limit the passing of germs from the patient to ourselves and our surroundings via our hands.