Theme 10 - Handwashing Flashcards
1
Q
Routes of transmission in dentistry
A
- contact surfaces
- hand contact
- aerosol from patient, water lines, clothes, skin
- dental instruments like sharps
2
Q
What can transmit through blood?
A
- HIV
- hep B
3
Q
What can transmit through saliva?
A
- glandular fever - Epstein-Bar virus
- not HIV/Hep B
4
Q
What can transmit through direct contact?
A
- staphylococci
- non-commensal environmental contamination
5
Q
How does hand hygeine break the link of infection?
A
- check medical history
- physical barriers
- disinfection of surgery surfaces
- area seperation
- clean and sterile instruments - single use disposable
- safe waste disposal
- boost host defences - behaviour change and immunisation
- hand hygeine
6
Q
When do you wash hands?
A
- before patient contact
- before an aseptic task
- after body fluid exposure risk
- after patient contact
- after contact with patient surroundings
7
Q
How does alcohol gel work?
A
- only apply to clean and dry skin (not soiled or greasy)
- gel should be rubbed into skin until skin is dry
- all hand areas contact the product
- wash hands with soap and water when hands feel sticky (after 4-5 uses of gel)
8
Q
What is alcohol gel not effective against?
A
- bacterial spores
- e.g C.diff
9
Q
Benefits of alcohol based hand gel
A
- quick to use without interrupting work
- doesn’t need to be located at a sink
- causes less skin irritation than soap
10
Q
Disadvantages of using hand gel
A
- only to be used on visibly clean hands
- small proportion of people can develop hypersensitivity to alcohol base gels/rubs
- alcohol will not remove dirt or kill bacterial spores like C.diff
11
Q
What order should you put PPE on in?
A
- safety glasses
- wash hands
- mask
- gloves
12
Q
What order should PPE be removed?
A
- gloves
- safety glasses
- wash hands
- mask
13
Q
Explain hands as a germ farm
A
- healthcare associated infections affect 5-10% of hospital inpatients
- hands major source of infection for many agents e.g MRSA, influenza, herpes viruses
