Nosocomial infections. That means hospital acquired infections, or those infections you didn’t have before going into the hospital, but find that you got after being admitted. They are all too common, and result in far too many unnecessary prolonged hospital stays or even deaths in this country each year. I have been a health professional for nearly twenty years, and would like to share with you some ways that you can prevent these infections from happening to you, or to someone you love. Unfortunately, I have also lost someone I love to just such an infection.
Many of these helpful hints will seem like ridiculous things to mention. But I have seen them all over the years, and have helped to treat many infections that result from these very same issues. I want to encourage both the patient, and the patient’s family, to begin to take an active role in nosocomial infection prevention. Doing so will save countless lives.
First and foremost, the best way to prevent a hospital acquired infection is with strict hand washing. Yes, that’s it. Wash your hands. It seems like a simple thing, but so many patients, visitors, and hospital staff fail to do it with any regularity. For the health professional, hands should be washed before entering a patient’s room, or upon entering the room, and upon leaving the room. Many hospitals provide hand sanitizer dispensers at every door to make this easier and faster to do. Many hospital staff, when questioned as to why they do not wash their hands as they should, site lack of time as the biggest reason. Failure to do this results in germs being transferred from room to room and patient to patient. Visitors should be advised to wash their hands, as well, upon entering the room.
Speaking of visitors, visitors with infections themselves should be discouraged from visiting in person, and opt for a phone call instead. Children under the age of twelve should not be brought to the hospital for visits at all. I am amazed at the people who bring newborns and toddlers in to see very ill patients. These little ones have under-developed immune systems and bringing them to the hospital exposes them to these harmful germs as well. Even if the person they are coming to see is not ill with infection, many other patients are, and these little ones could be exposed to serious infections. Children also bring infections into the hospital that can harm someone with an impaired immune system. Over all it is better for them to stay away. Hospitals just are not the place for small children.
If possible, patients and visitors should avoid any bare contact with the hospital floor. Never sit or walk barefooted on the floor. Rooms are cleaned between patients, but I’ve seen some pretty fast mop jobs that left the floors not so clean. I have had to lean down to the floor with a clean towel to mop up a spill and have been embarrassed to see the horrible amount of dirt on the towel afterwards. Always take slippers with you to the hospital.
Most all patients end up with some kind of intravenous access during their hospital stay. While they are a wonderful method to deliver lifesaving medications, they are also a major source of infection if not cared for properly. The professional who places the intravenous device should be well trained and always wear gloves throughout the entire process. The area of the skin over the vein selected should be cleansed with a solution intended to kill bacteria on the skin’s surface. The most common solutions used are betadine, alcohol, and chlorhexadine, with chlorhexadine being the most favored. It will continue to kill bacteria on the skin for up to six hours after its application. All intravenous insertion sites should be covered with a sterile transparent dressing to help prevent infection and provide visual access to the site.
When accessing the intravenous device, the health professional should always cleanse the access hub with a solution intended to kill the bacteria on the device. Failure to do this each and every time increases the chance the patient will get a hospital acquired infection. As the patient, if you observe any hospital staff getting ready to access your intravenous device that has not properly cleansed the access site, you should remind them to do so. Any good professional will not be offended, and instead should be very apologetic. The site of your intravenous device should be rotated at least every 72-96 hours. This will also diminish the chance of infection from the device even if it is still functioning properly.
Most hospital professionals are just that. They care for the patients they see, and would never intentionally do anything to cause a nosocomial, or hospital acquired, infection. However, staff shortages are a reality and this always leads to increased incidence of hospital acquired infections. Therefore, the patient, or the patient’s family, must be active members of the care team. Every hospital acquired infection may not be preventable, but most are. If we work together and do some very simple things, we can save lives.
