Medical Hygiene

                                                                                 

Medical hygiene is related to medical administration and medical care related hygiene practices that prevent or at least prevent the spread of disease.

Medical hygiene practices include:

Isolation or quarantine to prevent infection of infectious persons or materials.

Sterilization of equipment used in surgical procedures.

Use of protective clothing and barriers such as masks, gowns, caps, eyewear and gloves.

Proper banding and dressing of injuries.

Safe disposal of medical waste.

Disinfection of reusable (ie, linen, pads, uniforms).

Scrubbing, handwashing, especially in an operating room, but also in more general health care settings, where diseases can be transmitted.

Ethanol-based sanitizer.

Most of these practices developed in the 19th century and became well established by the middle of the 20th century. Some processes (such as disposal of medical waste) were refined in response to disease outbreaks of the late 20th century, particularly AIDS and Ebola.

Home and everyday hygiene

Home hygiene pertains to the hygiene practices that prevent or minimize the spread of disease at home and other everyday settings such as social settings, public transport, the workplace, public places, etc.

Hygiene in a variety of settings plays an important role in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. It includes procedures used in a variety of domestic situations such as hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, food and water hygiene, general home hygiene (hygiene of environmental sites and surfaces), care of domestic animals, and home health care (the care of those who are at greater risk of infection).

At present, these components of hygiene tend to be regarded as separate issues, although based on the same underlying microbiological principles. Preventing the spread of diseases means breaking the chain of infection transmission. Simply put, if the chain of infection is broken, infection cannot spread. In response to the need for effective codes of hygiene in home and everyday life settings the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene has developed a risk-based approach based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), also referred to as "targeted hygiene." Targeted hygiene is based on identifying the routes of pathogen spread in the home and introducing hygiene practices at critical times to break the chain of infection.

The main sources of infection in the home are people (who are carriers or are infected), foods (particularly raw foods) and water, and domestic animals (in the U.S. more than 50% of homes have one or more pets). Sites that accumulate stagnant water—such as sinks, toilets, waste pipes, cleaning tools, face cloths, etc. readily support microbial growth and can become secondary reservoirs of infection, though species are mostly those that threaten "at risk" groups. Pathogens (potentially infectious bacteria, viruses etc.—colloquially called "germs") are constantly shed from these sources via mucous membranes, feces, vomit, skin scales, etc. Thus, when circumstances combine, people are exposed, either directly or via food or water, and can develop an infection.

The main "highways" for the spread of pathogens in the home are the hands, hand and food contact surfaces, and cleaning cloths and utensils (e.g. fecal-oral route of transmission). Pathogens can also be spread via clothing and household linens, such as towels. Utilities such as toilets and wash basins, for example, were invented for dealing safely with human waste but still have risks associated with them. Safe disposal of human waste is a fundamental need; poor sanitation is a primary cause of diarrhea disease in low income communities. Respiratory viruses and fungal spores are spread via the air.

Good home hygiene means engaging in hygiene practices at critical points to break the chain of infection. Because the "infectious dose" for some pathogens can be very small (10-100 viable units or even less for some viruses), and infection can result from direct transfer of pathogens from surfaces via hands or food to the mouth, nasal mucous or the eye, 'hygienic cleaning' procedures should be sufficient to eliminate pathogens from critical surfaces.

Hygienic cleaning can be done through:

Mechanical removal (i.e., cleaning) using a soap or detergent. To be effective as a hygiene measure, this process must be followed by thorough rinsing under running water to remove pathogens from the surface.

Using a process or product that inactivates the pathogens in situ. Pathogen kill is achieved using a "micro-biocidal" product, i.e., a disinfectant or antibacterial product; waterless hand sanitizer; or by application of heat.

In some cases combined pathogen removal with kill is used, e.g., laundering of clothing and household linens such as towels and bed linen.

Hand washing-

Hand hygiene is defined as hand washing or washing hands and nails with soap and water or using a waterless hand sanitizer. Hand hygiene is central to preventing the spread of infectious diseases in home and everyday life settings.

In situations where hand washing with soap is not an option (e.g., when in a public place with no access to wash facilities), a water less hand sanitizer such as an alcohol hand gel can be used. They can be used in addition to hand washing to minimize risks when caring for "at-risk" groups. To be effective, alcohol hand gels should contain not less than 60%v/v alcohol.

The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends hand washing with ash if soap is not available in critical situations, schools without access to soap and other difficult situations like post-emergencies where use of (clean) sand is recommended, too.Use of ash is common in rural areas of developing countries and has in experiments been shown at least as effective as soap for removing pathogens.