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How to Reduce the Risk of Hospital Spread Infections?
- Lung, wound, urinary tract and bloodstream infections can be picked up during a stay in hospital. These are called hospital-acquired infections or HAI. They are also known as nosocomial infections.
- Inadequate hand washing by hospital staff and patients may increase your risk. Ask that hospital staff clean their hands before treating you, and ask visitors to clean their hands too.
- Stethoscopes are often contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus and other dangerous bacteria, because caregivers seldom take the time to clean them in between patient use. So ask the doctor to clean it with alcohol before using it for you.
- Patients who smoke are three times as likely to develop a surgical site infection as nonsmokers, and have significantly slower recoveries and longer hospital stays.
- The stress of surgery often makes glucose levels spike erratically. When blood glucose levels are tightly controlled, heart patients resist infection better.
- If you must have an IV, make sure that it's inserted and removed under clean conditions and changed every 3 to 4 days.
- Some areas of the hospital are more likely to have infection, such as intensive care units (ICU) and high dependency units (HDU). SO stay away from this area as far as possible. If you are in such area be extra cautious about your hygiene.
- A cold or the flu can lead to a chest infection, so let your doctor or the hospital staff know if you are not well.
- Tell your nurse if the dressings are not clean, dry and attached around any wounds you may have.
- Let your nurse know if tubes or catheters feel displaced.
- There are things you can do before and during your stay in hospital that will help reduce the chance of you getting an infection.
- Take care of your own health. Also help the hospital staff to take good hygienic care of you.
- Hospital staff working while showing symptoms of SARS also increased the risk. Providing hand-washing, showering, and changing facilities decreased the risk.
- The risk was greater when high flow oxygen therapy and positive airway pressure ventilation was used.
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