Handwashing in Medical Laboratories

Frequent handwashing has always been an important safety precaution in medical laboratories. Now, with the fear surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now publicized as an important safety precaution in every household. The importance of handwashing has been popularized to the point where it has become a marketing and sales tactic used by many businesses selling hand hygiene products. Handwashing is performed in particular situations in the Medical Laboratory; such situations include:
1. Before touching mucous membranes and breaks in the skin with hands
2. Before putting on gloves
3. Before leaving the Medical Laboratory
4. After accidental contact with blood, bodily fluids or tissue samples
5. After completing work in the Medical Laboratory
6. After removing gloves
7. After contact with patients or patient samples.
These are rules and regulations that have governed Medical Laboratories from the beginning of time. They are now been enforced more and have been popularized more to the general public in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The procedure used for handwashing in medical laboratories is:

1. Turn on faucet before removing gloves

2. Dispense a suitable piece of paper towel only by handling dispenser, i.e. do not touch paper towel

3. Remove gloves

4. Wash hands thoroughly with soap

5. Tear off paper towel and dry hands

6. Use paper towel in hand to turn off faucet and to dispense more paper towel if needed

7. Discard paper towel.

Three cleaning products of great importance in the handwashing procedure include: Soap, Paper Towel and Gloves. These are among the list of cleaning products that will shape the future of medical business from the year 2020 onwards. In chemistry, a soap is a salt of a fatty acid. Three ingredients which can be used to make soap include: Coconut oil, Caustic soda and Water. The chemical reaction that is employed to make soap is called saponification. 

The Coronavirus is a self-assembled nanoparticle in which the weakest link is the lipid (fatty) bilayer. Soap dissolves the fat membrane and then the virus falls apart and dies. Other cleaning agents that can be used instead of soap in handwashing include: Hand sanitizers, and Hand sanitizing wipes. Ingredients used to make hand sanitizers and wipes include: Rubbing alcohol, Aloe vera gel, and Paper Towel. These are products used regular in Medical Laboratories as well as bleach, soap, and gloves.