Person-to-person spread of germs within families has been recognized as a substantial reason for infectious disease in the society. Maintaining good hygiene practices prevents the spread of not only food-borne diseases but also many other common infections. Pathogenic germs are introduced continually into the home primarily by people, food, and domestic animals.

The major target sites for preventing the spread of infections in the home are the hands, hand-contact surfaces, food-contact surfaces, and cleaning cloths and utensils. As a means of transmitting disease, the hands are the single most important transmission route for all types of infection. They come into direct contact with all the known portals of entry for germs, including the mouth, nose and eyes. To break the chain of infection, it is important not just to target the critical surfaces such as the hands, but also to do it at the right time.

These are some of the situations when hand hygiene is the most critical:

1.   After using the toilet or changing baby’s diaper.

2.   Before eating and feeding children.

3.   Before cooking food.

4.   After handling raw meat.

5.   After contact with blood or body fluids.

6.   After handling pets.

7.   After contact with garbage bins and other contaminated surfaces.

8.   After blowing your nose and sneezing into your hands.

9.   After contact with a diseased person.

10. Before contact with an at-risk person.

Hand hygiene can be effectively performed by either hand washing appropriately or by alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Hand washing is the only option when hands are obviously soiled. To be fully effective, hand washing with soap should be done using a rubbing process that maximizes release of microbes from the skin and a rinsing process that washes away the dislodged organisms. Alcohol based hand sanitizers can be used where water and soap are not accessible.

Hand hygiene awareness is an integral tool in decreasing the spread of infectious diseases in the community and its importance cannot be overemphasized.

Rashmi Jain, M.D.
First-Year Pediatric Resident
The Children’s Hospital At Monmouth Medical Center