since i was recently in er again, i spoke to a nurse about contagions and she passed along this advice.
for anyone in the hospital or even visiting someone in the hospital, or going to a doctor's office, as soon as you get home, strip completely and put all clothes in the washer. use a strong detergent, bleach if they are white clothes.
take a shower immediately before doing anything. wash hair thoroughly.
do not share anything on the way home, cokes, food, etc. don't go shopping or anything. go straight home.
this will remove any contagions on the body and insure you don't pick up anything or pass it along to somebody else.
even if you have prescriptions, go home first.
so please if you go visit someone take these precautions.
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
seems like our world is getting crazier and crazier...but thanks for info. im sure shes right.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Now, with MSRA so prevalent in the hospital, this is just more important. MSRA is just so highly transferable.
Also, without panic, just as routine:
Steering wheels, door latches, door knobs, faucets, phones - counter tops, desk tops, chair backs/top rims - also need to be cleansed every so many days.
Purses, bags, etc. too. Be careful about those recycled grocery bags as they can harbor food poisoning. Wash out with every use and wash veggies that have been placed in them, too. The conveyor belt at the grocery checkout transfers a lot of things.
(A eco-friendly soap with citrus extract is good. Avoid bleach or harsh chemicals as they can damage our airways, strain our livers and mess up our endocrine receptors.)
Best to just learn to never touch eyes, nose or mouth directly with hands.
For my counter tops, when I steam clean my floor (thank you so very much, Bissell, for those handy floor steamers) . . . I just do a starting run on the top of my counters before the floor. -
Posted by karenl (Member # 17753) on :
Keebler,
I am looking to buy the best steam cleaner. I have a very good non steaming machine for the floors but need a steam cleaner for countertops and windows, shower doors and soft materials....
Is the Bissell the best and which model do you have?
Posted by nonna05 (Member # 33557) on :
unbelievable, no wonder I can't get well.
I don't get out much but doctor's are usually where I go..
Are we getting such weak fighting systems because of using antibacterial wipes, liquids etc so much?
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
Think of all the doctors and nurses and necessary staff working in the hospital every day. Geez, if the hospital was that bad, there would be no employees alive to work in them!
Because of the problem with resistant germs, hospitals are stepping up their cleaning routines to include bleach products, new UV systems, etc... This is good news for all of us.
Paying attention to good hand hygiene is an absolute must. Watch what you touch. I always carry hand sanitizer and wipes in my purse because there are dirt and germs everywhere. Grocery stores, gas stations, and pharmacies are probably dirtier than the hospital.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
Your average person may want to take the risk but I don't. I heard somewhere thAt your chances of getting sick from hospitals are upwards of 30 percent. Immunocompromised people like us should be extra vigilant.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Well, dang!!!
I just got back from the ER this afternoon and I heard the lady across the hall tell her DR that she had MRSA. She also had bronchitis and was coughing.
I told my husband to close the door to my ER room!
Maybe I'd better go take a shower! Sure don't feel like it though.
thanks for the tips!
Posted by linky123 (Member # 19974) on :
And c-diff, which is very contagious. I talked to a guy who did a study in one of the hospitals.
The infection rate was 14%.
Scary.
Posted by fourwinds (Member # 14114) on :
@randibear... sounds like good advice.. I had a nurse tell me she never wears her work shoes into her home, takes them off outside the front door!
On a couple occasions when I've been in the ER or admitted to the hospital, I've actually ASKED the nurses and doctors to wash their hands before
touching me... yes, you can imagine the reactions they gave me.. but I stood my ground.
I also used the "wipes" that are in a container by the door of the hospital room to wipe down the
phone, tv remote, bed rails and anything else I could in the room.... tsk tsk -- I was scolded
by a nurse that these "wipes" weren't to be exposed to skin LOL....
Posted by Maryland Mom (Member # 2043) on :
A word of caution about preventing spread of c-diff: using hand sanitizer is not sufficient for this, you must wash with soap and water!
Fourwinds, the wipes you were using mostly likely were designed for sanitizing surfaces. They are often used in hospitals and doctors offices, and the nurse was right. These are not meant to be exposed to skin. Hospital staff wear gloves when using these wipes. Most hospitals these days now have hand sanitizer dispensers mounted on walls for use on hands, and that is a different formula that is much easier on the skin.
All hospital staff should wash hands or use hand sanitizer upon entering and leaving every patient room. If they don't, call them on it! Evidence-based practice shows that is the number one key to preventing spread of infection.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Nail polish and fake nails have been shown to carry more infections, too, with germs getting trapped in the layers of nail varnish and acrylic but still transferable as hand washing can miss a lot with layers.
Go for clean bare nails and hope the nurses will, too. -
Posted by Maryland Mom (Member # 2043) on :
Keebler, you are so right! While working hospital clinicals as a nursing student, I had to adhere to a rigorous dress code that included keeping nails trimmed short and no fake nails or nail polish, even clear polish.
Jewelry was limited to a single pair of non-dangling earrings and a wedding ring if married.
Many of my fellow nursing students resented the extent of the restrictions, but evidence-based practice shows we can harbor bacteria in the nooks and crannies nails and jewelry provide.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Good to hear, MM!
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
My wife is a nurse. She wears limited jewelry, watch and secondary wedding ring.
She leaves her shoes at the door and heads straight for the shower.
Posted by philly78 (Member # 31069) on :
I'm a nurse in the ER. Have been for quite some time now and I am doing just fine. Well....other than lyme and cos! Lol.
MY nails are short. I wear no jewelry other than small earrings and when my hair was long, it was pulled back. It's short now.
My work shoes don't even leave the hospital with me. I leave them at work and change into different shoes.
As for MRSA...a lot more people have this than you think and there is both community acquired and hospital acquired.
I'd be more worried about whether or not your Dr. or nurse cleaned their stethoscope or washed their hands prior to seeing you. And those Dr.'s ties? Don't even get me started on that.