World Hand Hygiene Day 2024

World Hand Hygiene Day, celebrated on May 5th, 2024, is an initiative by the World Health Organisation aimed at promoting hand hygiene across the globe. This day emphasizes the importance of hand hygiene as a simple, effective, and affordable way to prevent the spread of microorganisms and save lives. The campaign focuses on the role of hand hygiene in healthcare settings, encouraging both healthcare providers and patients to practice good hand hygiene techniques. By highlighting the critical nature of clean hands, Western Health fosters a culture of cleanliness that can significantly improve health outcomes for our patients, staff, and visitors.

Hands play an important part in helping us care for ourselves and others.

With winter fast approaching, cold weather and lower humidity levels mean hands often become drier. It’s important to focus on protecting yourself and your patients by maintaining the moisture level of your skin to maintain healthy hands.  Intact skin is the first line of defence against infection. Dry, damaged and cracked skin can put you at risk of picking up germs and spreading them to others. It can also lead to discomfort and reduced compliance with hand hygiene.

Factors that affect skin moisture and cause irritation

1. Repeated handwashing with soap and water: Handwashing strips oil from the surface of the skin making it less pliable and more likely to crack or tear.
2. Using hot water for washing and vigorous drying with paper towel: Hot water removes moisture and the rough surface of the paper towel is abrasive, stripping away the protective outer layer of skin cells when rubbed vigorously.
3. Donning gloves while hands are still wet: Donning gloves over damp hands increases the risk of skin irritation. Additionally, sweating while wearing gloves for extended periods also increases likely skin irritation and drying.

Please click here to view top tips to keep skin healthy.

Check your skin hydration level

Ecolab will be on site to assess your skin hydration level using a digital skin moisture analyser – All are welcome