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Nursing ProcedureSURGICAL HANDWASHING

SURGICAL HANDWASHING

SURGICAL HANDWASHING

Surgical asepsis: the hands should be thoroughly cleansed for about 3 to 5 minutes (in operation room, hands are scrubbed up to 10 minutes)

Surgical Scrub

  • Wet hands and forearms
  • Apply soap (containing 3% hexachlorophene) to make a good lather
  • Clean under nails, which should be kept very short (30 seconds)
  • Rinse thoroughly
  • Apply soap to hand and arms again
  • Scrub with brush so that every area receives 15 to 30 strokes
  • Add small amount of water frequently and use just enough detergent to maintain lather
  • Rinse the arms and hands
  • In rinsing keep palms higher than the elbow so that water does not run over palms from the arms
  • Dry on a sterile towel moving from the palms to the arms

General Instructions

  • When washing hands, they are held above the level of the elbow (in surgical asepsis the elbow are considered more contaminated than the hands)
  • The water should run from least contaminated are hands to the area of great contamination (elbows)
  • It is important to put soap well and scrub with a brush and rinse thoroughly with water several times
  • A sterile towel is used to wipe the hands and arms. Starting from the palms to the elbows
  • The gown is to worn by the infected person when he is transported outside his room. The gown prevents the patients contaminated clothing from touching clean areas
  • The gowns are worn by the nurses who caring for the persons whose resistance to infection is diminished, e.g. premature babies
  • The outside of the gown is considered to be highly contaminated and the inside of the gown is considered to be clean
  • If the gown is to be re-used, hang the gown inside the patients unit with the contaminated side folded out
  • Hang the gown outside the patients unit with the contaminated side folded in
Surgical Handwashing - Procedure, Instructions
Surgical Handwashing – Procedure, Instructions
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