Hand washing is one of the most common practices and one of the simplest measures against contagious diseases and infections. The main hand-hygiene covers: hand washing, hand disinfecting, the use of protecting gloves and hand nurturing.

There is a large number of bacteria on the surface of our hands that is constantly present and the bacteria which we can transmit on to others. The factors that influence the transmission of bacteria are:

  • type of micro-organism
  • characteristics of the contaminated area
  • humidity
  • amount of pollutants.

The concentration of bacteria can vary from one part of the body to another. These are three most common ways for contamination:

  1. The direct contamination
  2. Indirect contamination
  3. The contamination of air.

Main means of indirect contamination are the hands, because the skin is the largest organ in the human body. It weights around 5 kg, presents 1.5-2 m2 of surface area) and has a function of an external protective barrier.

When do you need to wash your hands in order to achieve a standard of personal hygiene?

- upon arrival at work and before going home
- after using the bathroom
- after changing in and out of work clothes,
- at the check-in and check-out from the department,
- after the use of gloves,
- before and after all meals

Hand washing with the right products with the aim of eliminating the visible dirt and removal of the microbial flora lasts from 40 to 60 seconds. When washing your hands, it is advisable to remove all jewellery (rings, bracelets, watches) which can affect the result of washing.

The best way to start is to use lukewarm water and non-aggressive soap with nourishing assets. First we wet our hands and apply a sufficient amount of soap to cover the entire surface of the hands. We start by rubbing it to the palm of the hand. Then we place one hand on the other and rub between the fingers that we interlace. In the next step we bend the fingers and wash beneath them. We than rub the thumb in rotary friction and repeat it on the other hand. We wash the palm by rubbing it with the fingers on the opposite hand. We then flush our hands with water, dry them thoroughly or wipe them with a towel for a one-time use. For more protection, you can also use a disinfectant. All of the disinfectants for the hands have an active substance-alcohol but also a nurturing asset is added to it. By disinfecting our hands we not only wash the bacteria away but also destroy every aspect of it. It can be from 10 to 100 times more effective as just regular hand-washing.