Which moment triggers hand hygiene?

• A. After patient contact only
• B. Before and after patient contact
• C. Before patient contact only
• D. Neither

Answer: (B)

Hand hygiene targets two critical moments around patient care to interrupt the spread of infection. Cleaning your hands before touching a patient protects them from any organisms you might carry, while cleaning after touching a patient or their surroundings prevents those organisms from moving to you, other patients, or the environment. Because each moment tackles transmission in a different direction, performing hand hygiene both before and after patient contact provides the strongest protection. Doing only one of the moments leaves a gap, and neither is appropriate to rely on alone.