The first safety talks we ever heard came from our moms and dads. Look both ways before you cross the street, don't take candy from strangers, etc. Chances are, the topics of one of those early talks also included the importance of washing our hands. My mother was particularly fond of this one. She probably reminded me to wash my hands about 25 times a day.

But for many, that lesson still hasn't sunk in. At least that's the inevitable conclusion I draw from all those infection control reports I read citing lack of handwashing as a major problem. To address this issue and commemorate Infection Control Week, I'd like to present the following safety talk for you to share with your workers.

Why Handwashing Really Is Important

If I tell you that it's important to wash your hands thoroughly and regularly, I'll probably come off sounding like a mother hen. After all, you've no doubt heard the message a million times from your parents; and you've probably delivered it another million times to your own kids.

So I want to ask you not to just turn me off. Give me a few minutes and let's really think about what's at stake here.

What's the Danger

This planet is inhabited by literally billions of deadly agents. "Germs" is the common name for microbes, the organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that cause disease. They are too small to be seen without a microscope; but the harm they inflict is out of all proportion to their size.

Germs do their damage covertly. They enter your body when you touch your mouth, nose or eyes. Germs are in the foods you eat, the fluids you drink and the air you breathe. They're on other things that touch your body such as dishes, glasses, utensils, cigarettes and cosmetics.

But perhaps the biggest spreader of germs is other people. Germs live in and on the body. They're spread through hand-to-hand contact and by coughing or sneezing.

How Should You Protect Yourself?

Your mom and dad probably weren't biologists or lab scientists. But when they nagged you about handwashing, they were onto something. You see, washing your hands frequently and well is the single most effective way to prevent illnesses from germs. Handwashing keeps you from getting sick; just as importantly, it keeps you from spreading germs to other people - like your spouse, children and co-workers. In a sense, washing your hands is just as much about being a good and responsible person as it is about staying well.

All of us encounter germs on the job. And all of us carry germs that can spread to those we work with and around. So handwashing is important for all jobs. But certain occupations will have more exacting standards than others. For example, surgeons and food service workers must wash their hands especially well because they touch our bodies and the foods we eat. Sewer workers and trash collectors are at a high risk of exposure to contamination. Handwashing is also of particular importance in jobs that involve housekeeping, handling money and caring for children.

Some safety precautions are one-time operations. Take the precaution and you're covered at least for several hours. Unfortunately, handwashing isn't like this. It requires constant repeating. You need to make it a point to wash your hands at certain critical points in the day or during a shift, such as:

How to Wash Your Hands

All right, let's get down to the nitty gritty. Literally. I want to tell you about the proper way to wash your hands. Don't roll those eyeballs. I know you've been washing your hands since childhood. But I'll bet you're not doing it right - or at least as well as you should be. If everybody knew how to wash properly, infection wouldn't be nearly as big a problem. So, even though it might sound like nagging, a good lesson on handwashing is something we all can use.

To wash your hands effectively, follow these steps:

This is the tricky part: Avoid contaminating your hands again as you leave the washroom. For instance, use a paper towel to open the door and hit the light switch (and to turn off the water tap.)

If your work requires you to wash your hands frequently you might develop problems with dry, irritated skin. Skin excessively dry from washing is prone to infection. Apply moisturizers frequently to prevent chapping. Talk to me or another supervisor about the use of protective gloves and barrier creams if appropriate for your work.

Beyond the Handwashing Basics

Handwashing is one of the most important ways to avoid picking up germs and spreading them to others. But I would be remiss if I didn't end this safety talk by offering you some other tips:

Conclusion

Infection control researchers keep coming to the same conclusion: We don't wash our hands often enough or well enough. Let's wash our hands of this bad habit.

INFECTION CONTROL WEEK
October 14-20, 2007

By Catherine Jones

In the United States and in Canada, the third week in October is designated as National Infection Control Week. For safety coordinators putting together an awareness campaign, the Community and Hospital Infection Control Association -  Canada (CHICA-Canada) has a very helpful website full of tips and tools you can use for a successful event, including how to set up a display, as well as a list of Infection Control true or false questions you can use in quizzes, tent cards or brochures.

The site also has more than a dozen activity suggestions designed to involve anyone in your organization, encourage participation and result in learning. Here are just a few of their suggested activities:

Here's a link to their site.

POP QUIZ
Conference Room Germ Warfare

By Catherine Jones

Place these six common workplace surfaces found in the conference room in the order of least contaminated surface to the most contaminated surface:

Answer:
Least to most contaminated surface:

And the most contaminated surface in a conference room? Drum roll, please ...

Contaminated surfaces are not the same throughout the workplace, though. In an office, the most contaminated workplace surface is the phone mouthpiece and in a cubicle it's the light switch.

Source: Research report titled: Heterotrophic Bacterial levels on Common Workplace Surface, Conducted by S.A. Boone, K.R. Bright, and C.P. Gerba of The University of Arizona.

FROM THE VIDEO FILES
Infection Control

By Catherine Jones

Are your workers still dubious about the need to wash their hands after touching everyday objects? Show them this video of a day in the life of a commonly handled item.

Click here for the video

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