acupuncture hygiene

[Guest guest]

my teacher taught me to use sterilized cotton in order to avoid

direct contact between the needle and fingers.she said though we have

washed our hands,but our hands are not 100% sterile.later i see that

a lot of senior acupuncturists dont follow this hygiene procedure.

my question is:is it enough just washing our with soap and alcohol

then we can handle the needle body directly?

thanks for your opinions and comments

[Guest guest]

How many people have had an infection from a practitioner touching the AP

needle?

 

I really think that this is too much. I personally want to actually hold the

AP needle rather than use a guide tube, but I believe that this goes against

sterilisation regulation, does it not?

 

Kind regards

 

Attilio D'Alberto

Doctor of (Beijing, China)

BSc (Hons) TCM MATCM

07786198900

attiliodalberto

<http://www.attiliodalberto.com/> www.attiliodalberto.com

 

 

xmhhhh [xmhhhh]

02 December 2004 11:11

Chinese Medicine

acupuncture hygiene

 

 

 

 

my teacher taught me to use sterilized cotton in order to avoid

direct contact between the needle and fingers.she said though we have

washed our hands,but our hands are not 100% sterile.later i see that

a lot of senior acupuncturists dont follow this hygiene procedure.

my question is:is it enough just washing our with soap and alcohol

then we can handle the needle body directly?

thanks for your opinions and comments

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I think that westerns have a serious panic about microbiae. Almost NOTHING is

100% sterile! And we don't survive in an sterile environment.

 

Gilberto Antônio Silva

_______________________

Longevidade.Net

Saúde e Qualidade de Vida

www.longevidade.net

______________________

-

xmhhhh

Chinese Medicine

Thursday, December 02, 2004 9:11 AM

acupuncture hygiene

 

 

 

 

my teacher taught me to use sterilized cotton in order to avoid

direct contact between the needle and fingers.she said though we have

washed our hands,but our hands are not 100% sterile.later i see that

a lot of senior acupuncturists dont follow this hygiene procedure.

my question is:is it enough just washing our with soap and alcohol

then we can handle the needle body directly?

thanks for your opinions and comments

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 11:11:16 -0000, " xmhhhh " <xmhhhh wrote:

 

> My teacher taught me to use sterilized cotton in order to avoid direct

contact between the needle and fingers She said though we have washed our

hands, but our hands are not 100% sterile. Later i see that a lot of senior

acupuncturists don't follow this hygiene procedure. my question is: is it

enough just washing our with soap and alcohol

then we can handle the needle body directly?

 

Standard procedure ( " Clean needle technique " ) in the USA, last I heard,

includes:

 

a) hands washed thoroughly with soap and warm water -> " clean " hands; or,

as I do in one room without a sink, wipe/clean hands with a " sani-wipe "

type cloth. (and after, don't touch anything but cotton, needles, patient

etc. - not your own clothes, not wiping your runny nose, your hair, door

handles, light switches, etc.)

 

b) needle shaft should never be touched by fingers; if inserting by hand

(not tube), grasp needle shaft using a small piece of " clean " cotton.

 

In practice, this all is rarely carried out to the letter, but usually with

a good common sense respect that maintains adequate cleanliness, hence very

little risk. Exception: treating patients with highly infectious

conditions, or in hospital settings, and often rubber/latex gloves are

standard.

 

In the early 1990s, the terminology shifted a little, from emphasis on the

terms " sterile " (applying to things, instruments, surfaces, etc.) and

" disinfected " (applying to living tissue, i.e. hands, points on patient,

etc.), to a more relaxed (and realistic) usage of " clean " . One no longer

had to have a sterile field (paper table area cover), but just a clean

piece of paper towel. No longer sterile cotton balls, but just clean (out

of the bag). Needles must be initially sterile, but as soon as the package

is opened, the needle exposed to air, it's no longer sterile, but rather

" clean " . Using cotton and alcohol to wipe the point position on the patient

was no longer " disinfecting " , but just cleaning (dirt, sweat, etc.).

 

Acupuncture needles may introduce foreign substances into the flesh with

insertion (stuff from the air, friendly flora from the patient's skin,

etc.), but not to a large extent. Not comparable to what syringes or

catheters can and do take in with them.

 

Recently I noted a news item in the New York Times Science section: While

the human body is currently thought to consist of some 10 trillion cells,

an average human body is host to some 100 trillion (10 times as many!)

cells of parasitical microbes ( " friendly flora " ), in some 600 varieties.

 

I don't know about Europe, China etc., but in the USA, " antibacterial " soap

is all the rage, used in public bathrooms (WCs), sold in stores for home

use, etc. But all the medical and/or scientific reports I've seen agree

that this is purely marketing. Antibacterial or antimicrobial soap in

everyday usage has absolutely no advantage in terms of disease prevention.

AND it kills friendly flora, makes the skin more sensitive to ultraviolet

radiation, and likely encourages bacterial mutation in the direction of

drug resistance. All the medical/scientific sources recommend good hand

washing with plenty of soap and warm/hot water. (As is also recommended in

the preparation of minor skin injuries for bandaging.)

 

Exception: situations in medical and biological laboratories and research

facilities, where sterilization and disinfecting are serious priorities.

 

BTW: The common staphylococcus (spelling?) bacteria has recently become

drug-resistant throughout the USA. Common ordinary infections are now

potentially dangerous. Doctors and hospitals are being reeducated to

diagnosis carefully, and use special, higher-power antibiotic drugs.