ICT's Community Q&A is forum whereby members of the infection prevention and control community can meet in cyberspace to ask questions pertaining to infection prevention strategies and garner answers from clinical experts, as well as share comments, ideas and suggestions for fighting healthcare-acquired infections. If you have a question that you would like to have answered in this community blog, send it to forum moderator Kelly Pyrek at kpyrek@vpico.com. We welcome everyone to participate!

An ICT reader asks, "Are there any standards addressing whether nurses with long hair should have it secured away from the face and from hanging over the patient when providing care?  Does the possibility of long hair dropping onto the patient in pre-operative and post-operative areas increase the possibility of surgical site infection?  I have several nurses in my facility with mid-back length hair who refuse to secure it unless presented with a standard." Readers, do you have a response to share? 

User Comments !

Every person in the sterile field should cover all hair -- facial or head hair. There are many different hair-covering garments that can be used to accomplish this. Male or female employees, doctors or administrators... they all have an obligation to control their hair in or out of the OR.  AORN standards cover this concern well. I also do not allow my staff to wear cloth head covers in the sterile field.  Most people wear the same cloth head cover for many days, if not weeks. Makes you wonder how clean the cloth cover really is! Everyone has an obligation to provide the cleanest environment possible for our patients. 

Posted by: Don Dionisi | November 10 2009 11:31:21