When to wash, When to rub?

firstinfamily, RN · Sep 15, 2014

My last position was on a sub-acute unit located in a LTC facility. We had quarterly inspections with hand-washing by the infection control nurse. We had to wash hands before entering a patient's room, between patients, before doing any invasive procedure, before, during and after any wound care(after removing the dirty dressing and before getting the clean dressing, then when completed) and again if leaving the room. The alcohol was up on the hall walls for a quick wash, but it dried my hands out so bad I usually used the soap in the pts rooms. Anytime you have any visible soiled on your hands you should use soap and water versus alcohol. With C-Diff pts you should always, always use soap and water. Yes, we wore gloves, but these were the expectations of the infection control nurse. Wash your hands to "Happy Birthday" to get the time of required washing.

klone, MSN, RN · Sep 15, 2014

Wash with soap and water: Any time hands are visibly soiled, before and after eating, after using the restroom, when dealing with a C. Diff patient.

At all other times, it's acceptable to use gel/foam/whatever your facility has. Also, you should know the CDC's "Five Moments for Hand Hygiene" particularly if you work for a JC accredited agency, because they're VERY big on this. Before touching a patient, after touching a patient, before an invasive procedure, after body fluid exposure (potential or actual), after touching patient surroundings.

anon456, BSN, RN · Sep 15, 2014

What the above posters said-- but also every few times of using the hand sanitizer I wash with soap and water. It just feels cleaner and it gets the hand sanitizer residue off your hands.