Abstract
The purpose of this research was to find effective cares for contracted hands contaminated by prolonged bed rest. Patients' hands were examined in terms of their activities of daily living and frequency of whole-body bathing. Thirty five inpatients who were older than 65 years old were divided into 3 groups. Group Ⅰ consists of 21 contracted hands of the 12 bedridden patients bathing twice a week. Group Ⅱ consists of 22 contracted hands of the 12 bedridden patients bathing once a week. Group Ⅲ consists of 11 hands of the 11 wheelchair or walking frame users who can wash their hands by themselves. The hand-contamination level was assessed by ATP-bioluminescence method. Findings suggest that the hands in group I and Ⅱ were significantly dirty compared with those in Group Ⅲ. Furthermore, both hand-bathing and careful hand-washing during whole-body bathing help patients' hands keep clean for approximately 2 days. Particularly, careful hand-washing during whole-body bathing is more effective than hand-bathing which is done on the bed, and also more convenient because of less washing time. Therefore, it is recommended that hand-washing during whole-body bathing or hand-bathing at least three times a week is helpful to maintain the hygiene of the contracted hands of the bedridden patients.
