Infection Prevention for Aesthetics Practitioners: Pop Quiz!
Infection prevention is a crucial part of every injectable treatment. It involves steps that every aesthetics practitioner should fully understand and conduct meticulously for patient safety.
There’s also an element of professionalism to consider as patients will have certain expectations. You’ll find they often watch what you do.
To help you with your learning on this vital subject, here’s a 10-question pop quiz, with a bonus point up for grabs if you scroll down...
INFECTION PREVENTION POP QUIZ!
Answers and explanations are at the end of this article… but no cheating!
1. Being ‘bare below the elbow’ is crucial for infection prevention, but does this include removing your watch?
A) Yes
B) No.
2. You may push your sleeves up to ensure you’re bare below the elbow, unless you’re wearing...
A) Any man-made fibres including mixes such as polycotton
B) Fluffy, textured or deep pile materials such as wool or fleece
C) Both A and B.
3. When treating patients, aesthetics practitioners should always ensure they have their...
A) Hair tied back and short nails
B) Hair tied back, short nails and no jewellery
C) Hair tied back, short nails, no jewellery and no perfume or aftershave.
4. As an aesthetics practitioner, you should not wear nail varnish when injecting, even if wearing gloves.
A) True
B) False.
5. Does infection protection guidance allow injectors to wear a wedding or engagement ring whilst treating patients?
A) Yes
B) No
C) Sometimes.
6. Aesthetics practitioners may wear earrings whilst injecting.
A) True
B) True, as long as they are small studs or huggies
C) False.
7. As injectors, thoroughly cleaning our hands prior to treating patients is vital. This should be done by...
A) Washing with soap and water
B) Using hand sanitising antibacterial gel
C) Either A & B.
8. Effective skin cleansing prior to injecting helps to prevent...
A) Infection
B) Biofilm
C) Infection and biofilm.
9. Which preventative approach should you take when injecting?
A) Aseptic technique
B) Non-Touch technique
C) Aseptic Non-Touch technique.
10. Marking up lines do not have to be removed before injecting
A) True
B) False.
Bonus question: It’s fine to apply hand cream after cleansing your hands before treating injectables patients
A) True
B) True, if you then put surgical gloves on straight after
C) False.
INFECTION PREVENTION ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
1. Being ‘bare below the elbow’ is crucial for infection prevention, but does this include removing your watch?
The correct answer is A) Yes.
Adornments at the wrist can become contaminated. We recommend always taking your watch off whilst treating patients.
2. You may push your sleeves up to ensure you’re bare below the elbow, unless you’re wearing...
The correct answer is B) Fluffy, textured or deep pile materials such as wool or fleece.
For reasons of cleanliness and as a key infection prevention step, we only wear smooth fabrics when injecting. Any deep pile or significantly textured fabrics may harbour fluff and other debris which could cause contamination. As such, always ensure you’re bare from the elbows down, and that your clothing is suitable for aesthetic practice. If in doubt, wear scrubs or short sleeves!
3. When treating patients, aesthetics practitioners should always ensure they have their...
The correct answer is B) Hair tied back, short nails and no jewellery.
However, whilst it’s nothing to do with infection prevention, you may wish to abstain from perfume or aftershave simply for the comfort of your patients. We don’t all have the same tastes, or sense of smell, after all! This is more an issue of courtesy, though, especially for longer treatments.
4. As an aesthetics practitioner, you should not wear nail varnish when injecting, even if wearing gloves.
The correct answer is A) True
NHS England suggests good, evidence-based practice is to “have clean, short, unvarnished fingernails as they are hygienic and look professional. Long nails are harder to keep clean and are a potential hazard”. They add that false nails harbour micro-organisms and make effective hand hygiene more difficult.
5. Does infection protection guidance allow injectors to wear a wedding or engagement ring whilst treating patients?
The correct answer is C) Sometimes.
Jewellery and watches can harbour micro-organisms and limit effective hand hygiene. Local policies in some settings may allow a plain ring such as a wedding ring. However, they should ideally be removed during medical aesthetic treatments, for optimal hygiene.
6. Aesthetics practitioners may wear earrings whilst injecting.
The correct answer is A) True.
It is, in fact, true that there are no specific guidelines relating to the wearing of earrings whilst injecting. However, for your patient’s comfort and for safety’s sake, we recommend ensuring any earrings are unobtrusive.
7. As injectors, thoroughly cleaning our hands prior to treating patients is vital. This should be done by...
The correct answer is A) Washing with soap and water.
Follow the clinical hand-washing protocols you have used throughout your medical career. Use the correct technique, for 20 seconds, with liquid soap and warm running water. Dry your hands with paper towels. Soap bars and shared towels should be avoided as they can become contaminated.
8. Effective skin cleansing prior to injecting helps to prevent...
The correct answer is C) Infection and biofilm.
Any treatment breaching the skin barrier could cause infection. This includes cellulitis and abscess collection. A biofilm is a robust, thin film of mucilage that contains bacteria and other microorganisms that can envelope filler implanted causing inflammatory nodule formation.
9. Which preventative approach should you take when injecting?
The correct answer is C) Aseptic Non-Touch technique.
This is the best infection prevention approach as it encompasses sterile, clean, aseptic and non-touch techniques. Aseptic technique aims to reduce pathogenic organisms in a susceptible area. Non-touch technique avoids contamination by not touching key elements in contact with the treatment site.
10. Marking up lines do not have to be removed before injecting
The correct answer is A) True
Marking up lines may be used to guide procedures. As long as injection points are distant to the marked points and you do not inject through marking points, you can use these to guide your procedure.
Bonus question: It’s fine to apply hand cream after cleansing your hands before treating injectables patients
The correct answer is C) False.
We know it’s tempting to apply hand cream when you’re washing your hands so often every day. However, it’s best to do this when you have gaps between patients, or breaks, as well as at the end of the day. This reduces the chance of contaminants and allergans contacting treatment sites.
How did you get on?
All information correct at the time of publication
