2. Introduction
Surgical scrub is a process of removing or
decreasing bacterial count and resident skin
flora from hands and the forearms to a safe level
of surgical acceptance by mechanical scrub with
the help of scrub brush and a chemical
antiseptic soap.
3. Objectives
• To remove soil and transient microbes from the
hands and forearms.
• To reduce the resident microbial count to as low
a level as possible.
• To inhibit rapid rebound growth of microbes.
4. Preparations
• All jewellery should be removed from the
hands and forearms.
• Fingernails should be free of polish and
trimmed short.
• Hands and forearms should be free of open
lesions and breaks in skin integrity.
• Open your gown and gloves before you
scrub,so as not to contaminate your hands.
5. Scrub Procedures
Two scrub procedures are commonly used:
1. Timed anatomic scrub All surfaces of
the hand and arm are scrubbed for a
specified length of time.
2. Counted strokes method Each part of
the hand and arm receives a specific number
of scrub strokes.
Duration of scrub- 5 minutes
6. Pre-scrub Wash
• Run the tap and test temperature of water.
• Open the package containing nail brush, scrub
sponge and nail pick.
• Wet your hands and arms for an initial pre
scrub wash.
• Use several drops of scrub solution and work
up a heavy lather, then wash the hands and
arms to the elbows.
7. • Rinse the hands and arms thoroughly,
allowing the water to run from hands to
elbows.
• Clean under the nails with a nail pick.
• Moisten the nail brush with antimicrobial
solution onto sponge side.
• Lather the fingertips with sponge- side of
brush, washing all four sides of the fingers.
8.
9. • Wet the hands and forearms.
• Apply antimicrobial solution.
• Keep hands above elbows at all times.
10.
11. • Rinse and repeat these steps keeping hands
raised above elbows at all times.
• The second wash should only cover two-
thirds of the forearms to avoid compromising
cleanliness of hands.
• Third time, repeat the steps to wrists only.
• Rinse the hands under running water, allowing
the water to run from fingertips to elbows.
12. Characteristics of a Surgical Scrub
1. Anti-microbial action : An ideal agent must
have a broad spectrum of anti-microbial
activity.
2. Persistent activity : An agent offering
persistent activity keeps the bacterial count
low under the gloves.
3. Safety : The ideal agent must be non-
irritating and non-sensitizing. It must not be
damaging to the skin and environment.
