Hand Hygiene: "WHEN IS CLEAN TOO CLEAN"

The numbers of organism spread from the hands of nurses who washed frequently with an antibacterial soap actually increased after a period of time; this increase is associated with declining skin health. In a recent survey, nurses with damaged hands were twice as likely to be colonized with bacteria and had a greater number of species colonizing the hands. More washing and scrubbing are unlikely to be better and may, in fact, be worse. the goal should be to identify skin hygiene practices that provide adequate protection from transmission of infecting agents while minimizing the risk for changing the ecology and health of the skin and increasing resistance in the skin flora.