Which action best reduces infection risk after treating a wound?

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Multiple Choice

Which action best reduces infection risk after treating a wound?

Hand hygiene after wound care is essential to reduce infection risk. Gloves help protect during treatment, but germs can be transferred when you remove them or when you touch contaminated surfaces. Washing your hands with soap and running water for at least about 20 seconds (or using an alcohol-based sanitizer if hands aren’t visibly dirty) removes remaining germs and helps prevent spreading infection to yourself, the patient, or others. Gloves should be discarded after care, and hand hygiene should be performed afterward to break the transmission chain. Wiping gloves with a towel isn’t an effective decontamination method, and hot-water rinsing doesn’t reliably disinfect and isn’t a proper way to reuse gloves. Ignoring hand hygiene after care clearly increases the risk of infection.

Hand hygiene after wound care is essential to reduce infection risk. Gloves help protect during treatment, but germs can be transferred when you remove them or when you touch contaminated surfaces. Washing your hands with soap and running water for at least about 20 seconds (or using an alcohol-based sanitizer if hands aren’t visibly dirty) removes remaining germs and helps prevent spreading infection to yourself, the patient, or others. Gloves should be discarded after care, and hand hygiene should be performed afterward to break the transmission chain.

Wiping gloves with a towel isn’t an effective decontamination method, and hot-water rinsing doesn’t reliably disinfect and isn’t a proper way to reuse gloves. Ignoring hand hygiene after care clearly increases the risk of infection.

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