Healthy Living

How Healthcare Workers Can Protect Themselves

As a healthcare worker, having excellent hygiene habits is not only better for you, it also lowers the risk of infection for everyone around you. With the existence of COVID-19, it is essential to re-evaluate your current hygiene habits and encourage others to do so as well, in order to reduce the spread of the virus. A virus this contagious cannot be eradicated without a vaccine, but its destruction can be contained by practicing good hygiene and staying home when we're sick. 

Healthcare workers, EMTs, and many other essential workers are on the frontlines of all infections and diseases. With their risk of contracting the virus much higher than the average worker, they must take CDC recommended precautions seriously and make sure the people around them are as well. Here are ways you can promote good hygiene and reduce the spread of COVID-19 at your workplace. 

Preventing Diseases At Work

Whether you work in a hospital or clinic setting, it is essential to keep the building as germ-free and virus-free as possible. Although this is much more difficult in a hospital, it can be done if the healthcare workers band together. You can encourage your co-workers or employees to take extra precautions. Here are different ways to encourage cleanliness and prevent the spread of disease at your workplace. 

  • Stay Home When Sick

There are so many workers, particularly healthcare workers, that are pressured to go to work when sick. Especially now that patients are entering the hospital at higher rates than normal. However, with the contagious spread of COVID-19, it’s vital for people with symptoms of the virus or to stay home to avoid infecting patients and their coworkers. If you are sick, stay home and avoid all public transportation and public areas. It is strongly recommended to stay away from other people in your home while recovering. 

  • Hygiene Memos

A great way to ensure good hygiene around the workplace is by posting memos for your employees or coworkers. Posting proper handwashing techniques around kitchens, break rooms, bathrooms, and locker rooms will make others more likely to practice good hygiene. These memos should include how often you should wash your hands and information for teaching patients about hygiene. Having instructions in several languages is a great way to spread the information to everyone.  

  • Have Wall-Mounted Hand Sanitizer 

Having a wall-mounted hand sanitizer will prevent the spread of disease and infection. Workers would be touching the handle of the same bottle if it's not wall-mounted, making it less hygienic. Also, having a wall-mounted hand sanitizer is convenient for busy workers who may not have time to wash their hands. If you're using your desk every day, you should aim to thoroughly clean and disinfect it once every two weeks. 

When you’re responsible for taking care of others, you must re-evaluate your hygiene habits, especially during a time like this. Simple measures like washing your hands more often can drastically reduce the spread of disease. Most of these measures are considered common sense and if we all take precautions, we will lessen the long-term effects of COVID-19. 

How To Properly Wash Your Hands

The CDC recommends that healthcare workers should wash their hands roughly 100 times per 12-hour shift. The number of patients you see and the type of care provided may cause you to increase that number. Every time you touch a phone or clipboard, you could spread the virus as it lives on hard surfaces. The CDC recommends that you “Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.” 

The main way viruses like COVID-19 and the flu are transmitted are through touching a contaminated surface and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth. In the case of a nurse, it could be touching a contaminated surface and then touching your patient, therefore transmitting the virus. 

Is Hand Sanitizer Effective?

If you can’t wash your hands with soap and water, you need to have an alcohol-based hand sanitizer on you. The CDC says to “use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.” While hand sanitizer doesn’t kill all germs, it is better than the alternative of no cleansing. 

Most people don’t wash their hands correctly and may be afraid to ask. Often people don’t wash their hands long enough or thoroughly enough to kill all germs. And hand sanitizer should be rubbed into hands until it is completely dry or it is less effective. Healthcare providers should teach their patients how to properly wash their hands in order to help prevent sickness.

The CDC says, “As much as possible, you should stay in a specific room and away from other people in your home. Also, you should use a separate bathroom, if available.” If you are feeling symptoms or have been diagnosed, self-quarantining is the best way to reduce the spread.