Handwashing Procedure

The purpose of this post is to further your knowledge of asepsis, which is the freedom from disease-causing microorganisms. Asepsis is used to decrease the possibility of transferring microorganism from one place to another. The number one example of asepsis is handwashing. So today I'm going to teach you all how to properly wash your hands. This procedure comes straight from my nursing fundamentals book and lab, so it has to be right. Ok so here it is:

Things you will need:
- soap
- warm, running water (do not use hot water...it will dry out your hands)
- disposable or sanitized towels

Procedure:

1. Remove all jewelry
2. Turn on the water, and adjust the flow so that the water is warm
3. Wet the hands thoroughly by holding them under the running water, and apply soap to the hands.
* hold the hands lower than the elbows, so that the water flows from the arms to the fingertips.
4. Use firm, rubbing, and circular movements to wash the palm, back, and wrist of each hand. Interlace the fingers and thumbs, and move the hands back and forth. Continue this motion for 10-15 seconds. Also, rub the fingertips against the palm of the opposite hand.
5. Rinse the hands.
* make sure you don't touch the back of the sink or anything because then you have just contaminated your hands and technically should start all over.
6. Dry hands and arms thoroughly with a paper towel.
7. Discard the paper towel in the appropriate container
8. Use a new paper towel to turn off the water.

And that is how it's done!

Other things to keep in mind:
- NO FLICKING! yeah that's right, flicking the excess water off your hands is not allowed...i'm assuming this is b/c by flicking your wet hands around it makes them more susceptable to airborne pathogens.
- No leaning against the sink.
- When getting a new paper towel, use the elbow to pump it down.
- Fingertips and nails are often missed when washing the hands. You should try to keep your fingernails short because they will harbor bacteria/microorganisms.

Yep I think that's about it.
Have a good day and remember to wash your hands, because not washing your hands is rather gross.

Eye Exams

Yesturday, I had an eye exam to check to see if my eyes are getting worse. So I get to the office and get right in which is amazing in itself. Not only this but I didn't have to sit in the exam room for 20 minutes before the doctor came in either! I thought this was fantastic. (Waiting in the waiting room is one thing but having to wait once you get in the exam room is completely unacceptable and should never be tolerated, but it is none the less.) Anyways, I have been wearing glasses/contacts for the last 7-8 years I would say and it's been probably 6 years since my last eye exam. I forgot how uncomfortable it is when they get all up in your face with the light that seems like it's going to jab your eye out at any second. I couldn't help but laugh a couple times. Then at one point during the exam my doctor puts these drops into my eyes. He's like "that's probably gonna sting a little for a few seconds." At first I didn't feel anything, felt like regular eye drops, then Bam! all the sudden I felt lots of stinging sensations. I asked him what that was that he put in my eye and he told me that it was battery acid. Funny guy my doctor. Anyways I have more to tell.
I'm gonna go ahead and confess that I don't have good habits when it comes to taking care of my contacts. For example, a.) I don't change the solution in my case everyday or every week, b.)I sleep in my contacts and sometimes they stay in multiple days in a row, c.) if one falls out and no solution is at hand I like to improvise and use my own saliva (disgusting, I know...but I do it anyway), d.) I make one pair of contact lenses last as long as possible, which means:until they hurt all the time or they just won't stay in any longer. and e.) I use the generic solution brand, which evidently isn't good enough according to my eye doctor. Yeah, I never took the "Care of Contacts 101" class. So to make a long story short my eye doctor kinda lectured me the entire time I was there, but my eyes are the same as before so I will continue to care for or not care for my contacts in the same manner as before. I am going to try harder not to sleep in my contacts though, because that is not pleasant to wake up to. Speaking of sleep, I think I've dosed off a couple times while writing this so I'm going to go to bed now.

Baby Blogger

I'm taking my first steps as a baby blogger and I'm writing my first post. Exciting I know. I'm not sure if I'm going to be a frequent blogger... probably not, but I will try to squeeze in a few posts. Well that is all I got for now.