Archive for the ‘Hand Soap’ Category
Understanding and Dealing with MRSA
Industrial Supplies Michigan – Amerisource Industrial Supply
The Basics — What Is It And Where It Is Found?
First discovered in 1961, these MRSA infections are fiercely resistant to usually reliable beta antibiotics such as methicillin, oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin. In rare cases, mild skin infections featuring boils or pimples can transform lactams into necrotizing fasciitis (“flesh eating”) bacterial infections that can spread with horrifying speed and result in amputations or death.
Currently, the majority of MRSA cases are in Healthcare settings. According to an October 2007 study published in “The Journal of the American Medical Association” (JAMA), approximately 85% of invasive MRSA infections occur in these environments, while 14% are categorized as community-associated (CA-MRSA) infections, or in those individuals lacking the risk factors associated with healthcare environments. As outlined in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, more individuals died from MRSA in 2005 than from AIDS.
Transmission and Vulnerability
- Make sure your hands are clean by thorough and frequent washing with soap and warm water or by using a alcohol-based hand sanitizer and/or antimicrobial cleanser- especially after chaning bandages or touching wounds.
- Take your time washing your hands — it should take as long as it takes for you to recite the alphabet
- Constantly clean cuts and scrapes and cover them with bandages until they are healed
- Discard any soiled bandages and used adhesive tape
- Avoid contact with the wounds and bandages of others, if possible
- Shower immediately after exercise, athletic practice or competitions
- Do not share or tolerate the sharing of personal items such as towels, razors, bar soap or deodorant
- Immediately wash soiled towels, sheets and clothes with laundry detergent and dry them on the hot dryer setting to kill bacteria
- Wipe equipment surfaces with a disinfectant thoroughly after use
-
If you think you have an infection, contact your physician immediately
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Maintain a cleaner environment though mandated cleaning procedures for frequently touched equipment and surfaces thereof
SOURCES
:CDC Web site. The American Academy of Family Physicians Web site. WebMD Web site.Capriotti, T. Dermatology Nursing, Jan. 26, 2004; vol 15: pp 535-538. Johnson, L. Infections in Medicine, 2005; vol 22: pp 16-20. Klevens, R.M. The Journal of the American Medical Association, Oct. 17, 2007; vol 298: pp 1763-1771. R. Monica Klevens, DDS, MPH, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, CDC, Atlanta. Elizabeth Bancroft, MD, Acute Communicable Disease Control, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. CDC Basic Statistics, HIV/AIDS Status Report, 2005. WebMD Medical News: “MRSA Rates Much Higher Than Thought.” CDC Press Release, “CDC estimates 94,000 invasive drug-resistant staph infections occurred in the U.S. in 2005.” October 16, 2007. Linezolid for the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in children. Kaplan SL - Pediatr Infect Dis J - 01-SEP-2003; 22(9 Suppl): S178-85 Prospective comparison of risk factors and demographic and clinical characteristics of community-acquired, methicillin-resistant versus methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus infection in children. Sattler CA - Pediatr Infect Dis J - 01-OCT-2002; 21(10): 910-7 Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the community. Bratcher D - Pediatr Infect Dis J - 01-DEC-2001; 20(12): 1167-8
Hand Washing Recommendations
Janitorial Supplies Michigan – Amerisource Industrial Supply
Excerpt from CDC Recommendations on Hand Washing
When hands are visibly dirty or contaminated with pertinacious material or are visibly soiled with blood or other body fluids, wash hands with either a non-antimicrobial soap and water or an antimicrobial soap and water. If hands are not visibly soiled, use an alcohol-based hand rub for routinely decontaminating hands in all other clinical situations described in items. Alternatively, wash hands with an antimicrobial soap and water in all clinical situations described in items. Do not add soap to a partially empty soap dispenser. This practice of “topping off” dispensers can lead to bacterial contamination of soap. No recommendation can be made regarding the routine use of non-alcohol-based hand rubs for hand hygiene in health-care settings, unresolved issue.
Antimicrobial Spectrum and Characteristics of Hand-Hygiene Antiseptic Agents*
| Group | Gram-negativebacteria
|
Mycobacterium | Fungi | Viruses | Speed of action | Comments |
| Alcohols
Chlorhexidine
Iodine compounds
Iodophors
Phenol derivatives
Tricolsan
Quaternary ammonium compounds
|
+++
++
+++
+++
+
++
++
|
+++
+
+++
+
+
+
—
|
+++
+
++
++
+
—
—
|
+++
+++
+++
++
+
+++
+
|
Fast
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Slow
|
Optimum concentration 60%–95%; no persistent activity
Persistent activity; rare allergic Reactions Causes skin burns; usually too irritating for hand hygiene
Less irritating than iodine; acceptance varies Activity neutralized by nonionic Surfactants Acceptability on hands varies
Used only in combination with alcohols; ecologic concerns
|
Note: +++ = excellent; ++ = good, but does not include the entire bacterial spectrum; + = fair; — = no activity or not sufficient.
- Hexachlorophene is not included because it is no longer an accepted ingredient of hand disinfectants
Hand Soap Cost Comparison Bulk vs Duraview System
Hand Washing Comparison
Proper hand washing is the single largest activity that can prevent illness and improve health.
Tank Type Dispensers 50oz
Offers the lowest cost per gallon of soap
@ 0.1oz per push & $8.00/gal $.006/hand wash
- Each Dispenser fill last only 500 hand washes – 4 times more filling
- Soap is less concentrated and cheaper pink soaps can be thickened using salt – salt destroys the dispenser
- Soap is open to the air which can promote bacterial growth in the soap itself
- Refilling can be a messy operation
- Soap can be taken, misused or wasted by employees adding to cost
Duraview – Dispensers
@1.0ml per push & $10.00 per 2000ml $.005/hand wash
- Each Cartridge will last up to 2000 hand washes
- Can restrict amount dispensed per push to increase cost effectiveness
- Great looking dispenser system
- High quality soap, people will be more apt to use it and improve their health
- Soap is super concentrated – a little will go a long way
- Cartridge is air tight, soap cannot be contaminated
- Easy to refill cartridges
- Cartridges can only be used effectively in dispenser – eliminates theft
What would you rather Use?




































