Aseptic Technique: Handwashing (CDC, 1959)

Proper handwashing procedure for hospital staff is demonstrated by a uniformed nurse. After the hands and forearms have been washed and rinsed, the fingernails are cleaned with a toothpick, and a lotion is rubbed on the hands to prevent irritation. Handwashing in hospitals is an important step in limiting the spread of pathogens, especially staphylococcus.
Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: resource.nlm.nih.gov/8800515A.
Learn more about the National Library of Medicine's historical audiovisuals program at: www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/collectio...

[@DynamicSaff]

As reminder for those on how to best prevent against COVID-19...

[@absolutelydisgusted3319]

I cannot believe I’m watching this. I think this may be the lowest point of my life.

[@psychedelicpython]

I’m a firm believer in hand washing. It’s something my mother taught when I was a kid to do before I prepare foods, before eating, after I use the bathroom, etc.. I’ve known a man since I was 14 years old, so for 46 years, and he rarely washes his hands before he cooks and eats, and he gets sick a lot. Yep, there’s nothing wrong with good hygiene. 😁

[@stevenpryer5880]

PLASHET WARD LONDON

[@sharid76]

Dont use this as an example of currently approved technique in proper hand Washing. First, the fingernails should be cleaned FIRST during the beginning of the procedure, in order to remove the maximum amount of "dirt" at the beginning, and to avoid having contaminated materials come into contact with freshly washed skin on the fingers and hands. Secondly, if you are going to go to the trouble to properly wash the hands and forearms, then do it properly. Wash from the fingertips, the lengths of the fingers, between the fingers, to the palms, sides, and backs of the hands, then around over the wrists, up from wrists to halfway up the forearms, then from the top of that area to just below the elbows, while not returning to the parts already washed. Don't lather back and forth from one place to another, retracing motions from areas just washed to areas needing washing, then back again to areas already washed. That just spreads contaminated soapy water back to areas you've just cleaned. Dont let your hands and fingertips droop down towards the sink bowl, as this directs the soapy water you have already used back down over the already cleanest areas - your hands to your fingertips. If you're going to do it right, then do it right. If you're not going to bother doing it right in the first place, then don't bother. But at least wash your hands well, and scrub underneath your fingernails thoroughly, since that's where most contamination collects, and where your hands carry around the majority of the germs on them. Use a nail brush if you have one, or if not, get a toothbrush that's been scrubbed out and soaked in water and hydrogen peroxide for a couple of hours before reusing it, if it's not new. (People's mouths are very dirty, and you don't want to scrub nails to make them clean by using a dirty brush.) Don't use toothpicks. This advice was given before proper implements were devised for this chore. Toothpicks will have a tendency to slip when wet, and dig into the tissues between the nail and the finger, creating painful damage in that area with the sharp tip of the toothpick, leaving areas which will become prone to infection and places for bacteria and germs to inhabit. Cleaning out an old toothbrush with Bleach is actually counterintuitive, as it will damage the bristles and make them overly soft and soon fall out of the brush. Work your way up, from fingertips toward the elbow, not down, as instructed here by washing towards the fingertips. Your fingers will be the dirtiest part you start with, especially under the fingernails, and by getting them cleanest first, you will lose that benefit by letting the used soapy water, carrying the contamination it has removed, to flow back down over them during the washing and the rinsing process. All this procedural advice has changed over the years by scientists who investigated it thoroughly, using the newest methods, techniques and devices, and the nurses and doctors and other healthcare professionals who participated in the process. It is the scientifically proven and accepted process taught by nurses and other healthcare professionals, who have been taught and adhere to accepted and required methods of patient care. When rinsing, always rinse from the fingertips UP to whatever area where you stopped washing. Don't let the rinse water flow back down over your hands and then your fingers. Always dry with a CLEAN hand towel, (unless you are away from home and need to use paper towels, in which case it seems at least two paper towels per hand are required, since I have been required to use the institutional "waterproof" paper towels for years) from fingers to wherever you stopped above them - never the other way around. If the towel becomes too wet in the process, use another drier portion of the towel to complete the process, one hand at a time. In this period of pandemics which currently don't show any sign of abating, it's imperative that we do as much as we possibly can to stem the tide. Keeping hands thoroughly clean, by frequent hand washing is one of the easiest things we can do, and teach children to do, to help keep this from becoming very much worse. And in case anyone wonders how or why I seem to know so much about it, I will tell you. I spent two years in community college learning to become a Certified Surgical Technologist (CST), and then over 15 years working as one. Working in surgery every day - and many nights, too! - is the best place in the world to learn true Sterile Technique! And proper hand washing is the foundation of that craft.

[@shirleythomas86]

Shari D57 Thank you

[@ryanallen2647]

This is so extra this was 1959🤦‍♂️