surgical scrubbing

The purpose of surgical hand scrub is to:

Remove debris and transient microorganisms from the nails, hands, and forearms.

Reduce the resident microbial count to a minimum,and Inhibit rapid rebound growth of microorganisms.                   

The procedure consists of three phases:

hand washing.

using brush.

surgical scrubbing.                                                                                                                  The procedure for the timed five minute scrub consists of:                                          

1. Remove all jewelry (rings, watches, bracelets).
2. cover any cut on the skin.
3. adjust the water.
4. wet your hand.
5. Wash hands and arms with antimicrobial soap fig{1}. 
6. use brush for cleaning your nails 30 times in one direction.
7. remove the brush.
8. wash your nails.
9. with or without using a sponge  Scrub each side of each finger for 10 times , between the fingers, and the back and front of the hand for two minutes.{four sides for each finger }.
10. Proceed to scrub the forarms, keeping the hand higher than the arm at all times.{This prevents bacteria-laden soap and water from contaminating the hand}.
11. Wash each side of the arm to three inches above the elbow for 10 times.
12. Rinse hands and arms by passing them through the water in one direction only, from fingertips to elbow. Do not move the arm back and forth through the water.
13. Proceed to the operating room suite holding hands above elbows.

Once in the operating room suite, hands and arms should be dried using a sterile towel and aseptic technique. You are now ready to don your gown and sterile gloves.

hand washing fig{1}.

watch this video for more explanation.

{send your comments for more improvement}