Cleaning your hands by using soap and water, antiseptic hand wash, antiseptic hand rub (i.e. alcohol-based hand sanitizer including foam or gel), or surgical hand antisepsis.

Why practice hand hygiene?  Cleaning your hands reduces:

• The spread of potentially deadly germs to patients
• The risk of healthcare provider colonization or infection caused by germs acquired from the patient

Two methods for hand hygiene: Alcohol-based hand sanitizer and washing with soap & water

• Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are the most effective products for reducing the number of germs on the hands of healthcare providers.
• Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are the preferred method for cleaning your hands in most clinical situations.
• Wash your hands with soap and water whenever they are visibly dirty, before eating, and after using the restroom.

Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer

• Immediately before touching a patient
• Before performing an aseptic task (e.g., placing an indwelling device) or handling invasive medical devices
• Before moving from work on a soiled body site to a clean body site on the same patient
• After touching a patient or the patient’s immediate environment
• After contact with blood, body fluids or contaminated surfaces
• Immediately after glove removal

Wash with soap and water

• When hands are visibly soiled
• After caring for a person with known or suspected infectious diarrhea
• After known or suspected exposure to spores (e.g. B. anthracis, C difficile outbreaks)