Dirty Little Secrets
Infection control expert Nancy Andrews answers your questions
Editor’s Note: Are your customers asking tough hygiene questions? Here is your chance to ask someone “In the Know.” Nancy Andrews, RDH, BS, will take your questions and tell your tales. Pulling from centuries of experience, endless education, lots of research, and occasional consultation with other experts, Nancy invites your emails at Infectioncontrol@mdsi.org. The best question or tale at the end of the year gets $100.
Hand wary
Q: All too often, doctors take off their gloves and extend their hand to shake mine without washing or using an alcohol hand sanitizer. Is this actually a risk? Or, am I being paranoid?
A: You may be paranoid, but not about this. I am also assuming those gloves are contaminated, as anyone might, including the doc’s patients. It looks bad to NOT clean/sanitize hands when gloves are removed. OSHA requires, and the CDC recommends; performing hand hygiene after removing gloves, because hands may be contaminated. Gloves may have non-visible openings that allow germs to enter, either from manufacturing defects, or physical or chemical damage from use. Also, hands are never sterile, and any organisms left on hands before gloving will multiply rapidly in the warm, moist environment under gloves. Lastly, many people don’t remove gloves aseptically, so their hands may become contaminated during de-gloving. You are not paranoid – just practicing good awareness!
How about a bar in the office?
Q: I’ve sold hand sanitizers, lotion soap, and lotions to an office, but one hygienist will only use bar soap. Am I right in telling her that bar soap can be a source of contamination?
A: According to the CDC Infection Control Recommendations, both plain and antimicrobial products can become contaminated or support the growth of microorganisms. This is true for bar and liquid soap. For bar soap,
suggest small bars for easier handling and soap racks to facilitate draining – but bars are touched, and most experts consider bar soap an added cross-contamination risk. Liquid soaps should be sold in disposable dispenser bottles, or if dispensers are re-filled, they need to be washed out and dried fully before refilling. Topping off partially full soap dispensers can result in bacterial contamination. Follow manufacturers’ directions for use and storage of soaps. I’d discourage bars in the office.
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