Hand hygiene

A fundamental duty for all of us

Hand hygiene is a fundamental duty for all of us.
Washing your hands is a simple, effective and economical way of keeping infections down.

When should you wash your hands?

It is important to wash your hands with soap and water several times a day:

• when your hands are dirty,
• before every meal (before and after preparing food),
• after going to the toilet (and after changing a nappy or helping a child to use the toilet),
• after using a tissue, coughing or sneezing,
• after touching your facemask (in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic).

How to wash your hands

• Remove your rings and wet your hands thoroughly.
• Apply enough soap to completely cover the surface of your hands.
• Rub your hands together for 20-30 seconds to form a lather.
• Rub your palms together in a rotating motion. Do not forget your fingers: use the fingertips on your right hand to wash the palm of your left hand, and vice versa. Take care to wash the backs of your hands too.
• Thoroughly rinse your hands under running water.
• Carefully dry your hands with a single-use towel.
• Use the towel to turn off the tap.

In hospital, in certain situations, visitors will be asked to disinfect their hands with a hydroalcoholic solution on entering and leaving a patient's room. If these measures are required, you will be told so by the healthcare staff.

Recommendations on disinfecting your hands for healthcare professionals

'Disinfecting your hands' means rubbing them with an antiseptic which is usually based on alcohol (a hydroalcoholic solution).

When do healthcare professionals need to disinfect their hands?

The Ministry of Health recommends that healthcare professionals disinfect their hands:

• Before touching a patient: shaking hands, carrying out a clinical examination, etc.
• Before carrying out any clean aseptic or invasive procedure (aseptic technique): reapplying a dressing, taking blood, administering an injection, carrying out dental treatment, etc.
• After the risk of exposure to a biological fluid: blood, stool, sputum, urine, etc.
• After touching a patient: carrying out a clinical examination, taking their pulse, listening to their chest, etc.
• After touching a patient's surroundings: changing the bedsheets, adjusting a drip rate, cleaning a nightstand, etc.

A right for patients

Hand hygiene is a right for patients:

• It is your right to require care staff or doctors to disinfect their hands before treating you.
• If they do not disinfect their hands in front of you, do not hesitate to remind them.
  This simple action will help prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections.

How important is hand hygiene in preventing antibiotic resistance?

Appropriate hand hygiene is one of the simplest and most effective methods to reduce the spread of infection. However, it may be forgotten in certain situations where it ought to be applied to effectively limit the transmission of bacteria – in particular, antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Hand hygiene and antibiotic resistance

The Ministry of Health has made some videos which explain the link between hand hygiene and preventing antibiotic resistance. These videos, which are available in various languages and formats (with or without voiceovers) can be downloaded here.

Luxembourgish-language version (voiceover, sound effects)

French-language version (voiceover, sound effects)