Why Hand Hygiene is Important?

Most germs that cause serious infections in healthcare are spread by people’s actions. Hand hygiene is a great way to prevent infections. However, studies show that on average, healthcare providers clean their hands less than half of the times they should. This contributes to the spread of healthcare-associated infections that affect 1 in 25 hospital patients on any given day. Every patient is at risk of getting an infection while they are being treated for something else. Even healthcare providers are at risk of getting an infection while they are treating patients. Preventing the spread of germs is especially important in hospitals and other facilities such as dialysis centers and nursing homes.

Washing hands before and after patient contact seems like a simple solution to prevent the spread of bacteria between patients. Most hospitals have hand hygiene policies in place that guide their employees to do just that.

One of the key elements in improving hand hygiene practice is the use of an alcohol based hand rub instead of washing with soap and water. An alcohol-based hand rub requires less time, is microbiologically more effective and is less irritating to skin than traditional hand washing with soap and water.

When you are selecting a hand-rub, it is important to recognise that not all commercially available hand-rubs are the same. For example many commercially available formulations does not comply with the WHO recommended formulation for alcohol hand-rub i.e 80% ethanol or 75% iso-propyl alcohol. This is why we recommend the best in hand hygiene care – Sterillium®. The product comes from BODE Chemie, Germany and Sterillium is the best among rub-in hand disinfectants for hygienic and surgical hand disinfection.

The great advantage in the use of Sterillium is that hand disinfection can be carried out anywhere, by handrub application, independent of a washbasin and water.

Sterillium is suitable for hygienic and surgical disinfection. It is recommended for prophylaxis against several strains of viruses, bacteria and fungi. The preparation is used in the hospital and all areas where hygiene and disinfection is important.