GERMS 1
..Where they lurk...
Here are some management ideas about germs. Listed are also some places you may not of thought germs may be.
If you have any germ protection ideas... email me and I can post them.
Physical Therapy at Transplant Center
-
The physical therapy area in your center is used for pre and post transplant patients most likely (ask if this is true). The best managed centers use the area for POST transplant patients in the morning, when the air and machines are at its cleanest. The PRE transplant patients use it later in the day.
-
Even though you are POST transplant, masks should be worn in the area at all times. You cannot be sure that the air is clean, who may pass by.
-
All patients and family should wash hands as they enter the area of the physical therapy. At the center I was at, you walked in, used the instant foam type hand cleaner, then proceeded to the sink, operated by foot and did a soap and warm wash, with paper towel drying. This was also the practice when leaving the area.
-
Machines should be washed between patients. Even if they are clean, but you did not actually see it being cleaned, ask to have the PT person to clean it in your presence....peace of mind goes a long way.
-
Between machine use, wash your hands with the foam hand sanitizers (they should be provided and plentiful.
Folded Paper Towel Dispensing
-
Handwashing and hand drying are key elements of infection control. Paper towels are generally accepted as the most hygienic means of drying hands.
-
The adenosine triphosphate ( a measure of residual organic soil), bacterial, and staphylococcal load is present in hand washing surface stations. Faucet handles, soap dispenser activator mechanisms, and folded paper towel dispenser exits.
Use of Alcohol Hand Sanitizer as an infection control strategy
-
Studies show that use of an alcohol gel hand sanitizer can decrease infection rates and provide an additional tool for an effective infection control program.
Air Flow in different ventilation systems in a school
Most ventilation and air conditioning systems are designed without much concern about how settling particles behave in ventilation air flows. The supply and exhaust conditions of the ventilation air flow are shown to play an important role in the control of air quality. An important queestion is whether one should design ventilation systems so that particles settle to the floor(or other surfaces) and then clean the floor carefully, or whether one should design the ventilation systems to keep contaminants airborne and then evacuate them by the exhaust air. Probably a combination of these two techniques is the best choice.
Commercial aircraft cabins
The commercial aircraft cabin is an often-overlooked environment occupied by both flight crew and the general public. Endotoxin exposure in indoor environments has been linked to a variety of health conditions.
What to do to avoid gerns when flying: Health experts say you can do a few simple things to keep germs at bay when flying.
-
Wear a mask. It may seem drastic, but masks are perhaps the best way to filter out viruses in the coughs and sneezes of seatmates.
-
Don't touch a thing. With hundreds of people cycling on and off planes every few hours, it's inevitalbe that germs will be everywhere on board. Try to minimize contact with tray tables, windows, overhead bins, etc. and because you probably will get germs on your hands despite yourself, avoid touching your eyes, nose an mouth in flight (Joannes' Travel Advice - wipe all surfaces, including the tray table, seat belt buckle, control buttons, with an alchohol pad, or with an antibacterial wipe.) Also, if possible eat and drink when not on plane to avoid removal of mask.
-
Stay moist. Aircraft cabin air is incredibly dry: 10-20 percent humidity. Low humidity makes it easier for germs to spread.Use a saline spray to keep nasal membranes moist and to sweep away germs. Drink lots of fluids, some say a glass of water an hour.
-
Move. If youre pretty sure the person next to you is sick ask to be moved, or if there are plenty of open seats, move yourself. Your proximity to someone spewing germs is the biggest factor in getting sick yourself.
-
Relax. Experts say stress is a huge factor in whether you get sick, so try to make your travel day go smoothly. Pack ahead of time, leave for the airport early and build some slack into your schedule.
These next tips are from Joanne Schum
Home:
-
Bathroom - Keep all kleenex, toothbrushes and hand towels away from the toilet. The back of the toilet is the worst place to be, along with in front of the toilet. When a toilet is flushed, there is a fine spray that is released and can spray and land onto any of these surfaces. I recommend putting all these items into a cabinet, or a medicine cabinet for safety.
-
Entrance to Home - At the entrance to our home you will find a sign indicating that all who enter should wash hands once inside. Also the sign informs people that if they are sick they should not enter. Once inside the door, there is a Hand Cleaning Center (my sister Dolores named that for me). This is one of those wire, wheeled carts you can get at Wal Mart. It has Purell, Alcohol, masks, gloves, mosquioto repellant, sunscreen, and a few other items on it.
-
Shoes - As I have Cystic Fibrosis, I am very aware of Cepacia. Cepacia, aspergillous has numerous places it can be picked up - especially the hospital. At the door or our apartment in North Carolina, you could not step into the house with your street shoes, or sneaks on. You had to spray them with alcohol first, and then deposit the shoes on a welcome mat, and put on house shoes for indoors.
Public Restrooms:
I use the "fanny door open" method on doors of restrooms whenever possible. Obviously the "fanny door open" can only work one way, so, when going leaving the restroom, I use the "toiet paper open" method going out!!! Restrooms are a possible place to pick up a multiple bunch of bacteria. People who are sick to their stomach, have diarrhea, have colds, pneumonia can frequent these public areas at anytime. So extra caution and care need to be taken.
Avoid using public restrooms if at all possible. Use the door opening methods I suggested above. Be sure to use the toilet seat protectors if provided, or you can also buy a packet of them very cheaply at a WalMart. If that is not possible, put toilet paper onto the seat. Never flush a public toilet by putting your hand onto the flusher. Use your foot. BUT...... PLEASE do not face the toilet when it flushes. These high powered toilets will release that dangerous spray into the air, and into your nose and mouth. TURN AS YOU FLUSH AWAY from the toilet. I also get some toilet paper and open the door with it. When you wash your hands, all surfaces are loaded with bacteria. I sometimes use purell for this public area. But if you do use the soap and sink, turn them off only with a paper towel that is supplied. And use PAPER TOWELS, not the dryer. And also, when using the paper towel dispensers that you push down a lever, I use my elbow, then dry my hands and get another piece of paper towel to open the bathroom door with.
Doctor's stethescope and pen
Because doctors use stethescopes to touch dozens of patients in a row and their pens sometimes become makeshift probes, these two items are usually crawling with infectious microbes. Good naturally ask your doctor, "When was the last time your cleaned that thing?" There is nothing wrong with you asking the doctor to wipe the stethescope with an alcohol swab. And never use the doctors pen. For that matter, do not use the office pens at the sign in/out desk either.
Added 9/18/04 Source: Clinical Infectious Diseases 2004;39:702-709
Disinfection and Sterilization in Health Care Facilities: What Clinicians Need to Know
<o:p></o:p>
All invasive procedures involve contact between a medical device or surgical instrument and a patient's sterile tissue or mucous membranes. A major risk of all such procedures is the introduction of pathogenic microbes that could lead to infection. Failure to properly disinfect or sterilize reusable medical equipment carries a risk associated with breach of the host barriers. The level of disinfection or sterilization is dependent on the intended use of the object: critical items (such as surgical instruments, which contact sterile tissue), semicritical items (such as endoscopes, which contact mucous membranes), and noncritical items (such as stethoscopes, which contact only intact skin) require sterilization, high-level disinfection, and low-level disinfection, respectively. Cleaning must always precede high-level disinfection and sterilization. Users must consider the advantages and disadvantages of specific methods when choosing a disinfection or sterilization process. Adherence to these recommendations should improve disinfection and sterilization practices in health care facilities, thereby reducing infections associated with contaminated patient-care items.
Canned Goods Safety - from the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
Cans must exhibit a packing code to enable tracking of the product in interstate commerce. This enables manufacturers to rotate their stock as well as to locate their products in the event of a recall.
These codes, which appear as a series of letters and/or numbers, might refer to the date or time of manufacture. They aren't meant for the consumer to interpret as "use-by" dates. There is no book which tells how to translate the codes into dates.Cans may also display "open" or calendar dates. Usually these are "best if used by" dates for peak quality.In general, high-acid canned foods such as tomatoes, grapefruit and pineapple can be stored on the shelf 12 to 18 months; low-acid canned foods such as meat, poultry, fish and most vegetables will keep 2 to 5 years -- if the can remains in good condition and has been stored in a cool, clean, dry place.We hope this information will be of help to you. If you have further questions, please call the Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1(888)MPHotline (674-6854).
