Reasons why you should be careful at hospital settings

 

The hospital is generally a safe place. This is because we go there for cure in case we feel bad or need some means of feeling better. Interestingly, recent studies have shown that the hospital can sometimes be very dangerous to be.

 

Nosocomial Infections are infections acquired during hospital care which were not present during admission.  They range from UTIs, Surgical wound infections, Ventilator associated Pneumonia and Primary bacteraemia.

 

Where do they come from?

Virtually every organism can cause these infections from bacteria to fungi to viruses. These are brought by patients who are visiting the health care centre or even a healthcare practitioner by skin or clothes they wear. Crowding hospitals can be very dangerous especially in our settings in Tanzania and people of impaired immunity tend to suffer more.

 

Environments where there’s a high contamination

• ·        Bed rails
• ·        Curtains and Pillows
• ·        X-ray boxes
• ·        Air humidifiers

 

Who is at risk?

• People of advanced age
• Chronic lung disease
• Prolonged ICU stays
•  Surgery patients

What can we do to avoid this?

·    Well, simply wash your hands regularly. This goes for healthcare practitioners too. The hands are the most common tool for contamination

•        Don’t touch side of walls or staircases. Remember to always wash your hands after touching door knobs.

•      Getting immunized isn’t a bad idea too. Shots of BCG, Hepatitis B, Rubella and Varicella can go a long way to ensure proper protection

•  Limit the duration of using ventilators or catheters to where is necessary or possible.

 

•  Nosocomial infection tend to be very difficult to treat as they are very resistant. This cause high cases of morbidity to immunocompromised patients most found in hospitals or who go to hospital.

• These patients now have to deal with another problem different to the  one which had brought them there in the first place.