Your roommate has a large boil on his back. The boil is very…
Your roommate has a large boil on his back. The boil is very painful to touch, and is surrounded by an area of redness that is warm to the touch. He tells you that a friend is going to “pop” the boil later that evening when they are both home from school. You ask your roommate what they plan to use to open the boil, and he tells you he has a knife with a sharp point that they will use, and that they will wash it well with dishwashing liquid before they do the procedure. Your roommate tells you his friend plans to wash his hands with soap and water before working on the boil, to get rid of all the bacteria on his skin and prevent the possibility of an infection. You tell him a. that people have so many bacteria on their skin, it is impossible to remove them. Even washing with soap won’t remove any bacteria because they exist in biofilms on the skin. b. the likely problem is not going to be hand bacteria but those on the back. Handwashing isn’t needed and won’t be effective. c. that washing and scrubbing with soap is generally sufficient to control microbes in routine situations but that soap itself does not destroy many organisms, and sterile gloves should be used. d. that washing and scrubbing with soap will be fine because the soap will destroy absolutely all hand bacteria, whether pathogenic or normal microbiota. e. that people who are shower regularly are clean and don’t have any bacteria on them. There is no reason for handwashing before the “boil surgery”.