With the virus on everyone’s minds, there’s a newfound focus on keeping things clean and disinfected. One of the most important is your hands. Without even thinking about it, we use our hands to touch doorknobs, our phones, and our face. This is a surefire way to spread disease. Keeping your hands clean is especially important in drug testing. Here are three hand hygiene tips to use in your drug screening lab.
1. Wash your hands correctly.
There’s a difference between just washing your hands and really cleaning them properly. Splashing some water on your hands and then drying them on your jeans isn’t going to cut it. If you want to actually kill germs, wash your hands for at least twenty seconds. Use warm water and plenty of soap. Make sure to scrub every part of your hands, not just the palms. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) lists five steps in a thorough hand washing: wet, lather, scrub, rinse, and dry. Follow these guidelines to have good hand hygiene.
2. Use clean gloves.
When in a drug testing lab or any scientific or medical area, wearing gloves is often a good idea. This prevents both germs from your hands from contaminating anything and potentially harmful substances from hurting the skin on your hands. It is important to keep gloves clean just like you would bare hands. This means not using gloved hands to touch your hair or face. It also means replacing your gloves when they become dirty. Don’t try to remove your gloves and save them for later. The best practice for disposable gloves is to throw them away as soon as you take them off so no one else will mistake them for a clean pair. Gloves that have anything spilled on them during drug screening should obviously be thrown away and replaced as well. If you have more durable rubber gloves, be sure to disinfect them often.
3. Don’t touch anything you don’t have to.
This may seem extreme, but it’s a good habit to get into. Open the bathroom door with a paper towel. Turn off the light with your elbow. The less things you touch, the fewer times you are going to have to wash your hands or clean your gloves. If you are constantly coming in contact with frequently touched surfaces, good hand hygiene will dry your skin out quickly. Making a habit of keeping your hands away from your face, hair, and other surfaces will help prevent this.
Other ways to prevent the spread of germs
There are many other ways to slow the spread of disease beyond hand hygiene. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, or cough into your elbow. Don’t touch your face. Clean frequently touched surfaces like door handles, light switches, keyboards, and phones often. If you are sick, stay home so you don’t spread your illness to others.
Need drug screening for your business?
Are you a company looking for reliable drug testing for your employees? Soteria Screening offers a wide range of tests to fit your needs. The lab can do urine, hair, spit, and breath tests for alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, and other drugs. Drug screening is important because it keeps employees, businesses, and customers safe. Drug and alcohol abuse can lead to accidents on the job that injure people and hurt the company financially. Don’t take the risk – test your potential and current employees. To learn more about Soteria Screening or to order drug testing, call (202) 679-6670 or visit them online at www.soteriascreening.com.
