Hygienic hand washing

Authors: Rednenko VV, Rednenko LI, Poplavets E.V.

Editor: Rednenko V.V.

Equipment for the practical skill:

• liquid soap;
• paper or fabric napkin;
• a container for the disposal of household waste (litter bin) or a container (bag) for dirty laundry

Clinical situation:

• You have to wash your hands before a medical procedure

Order of the skill performance:

Every movement you must make at least 5 times

• Open the water tap and wet your hands

• Apply the soap on your hands

•  Lather the palmar side of your hands (rub your palms against each other)

• Lather back side of your hands

•  Lather between the fingers one hand (connect the fingers in the interdigital spaces, rub the inner surfaces of the fingers with movements up and down)

•  Lather between the fingers second hand

• Lather hands with fingers together

•   Rub thumbs of each hand

•  Rub your palm with the fingertips of one hand

• Rub your palm with the fingertips of other hand

•  Rinse hands with water

• Dry your hands with a paper or cloth towel

• Close the water tap. Options for closing depend on the type of valve tap:
  • When using the "elbow" valve at the tap, close the valve with an elbow; hand contact with the valve does not occur

• • When using a faucet with a regular valve (not elbow), it is closed with a towel used to dry hands

• Put a paper towel into a bin or put a cloth (reusable) towel in a container for laundry