Wash Your Hands Now!

Prevention Of C Diff, C. Difficile, Handwashing Versus Alcohol Gel

Iv’e always heard that if you have common sense, that’s what it takes to get through nursing school, and become a great nurse. Though I’m disillusioned with the common sense approach of the decision makers who set the standards of nursing practice for us to follow. In the heat of this folding economy, I find it necessary to switch careers, and I want to be a nurse, I have a passion to do this, so I will, but also want some reassurance that I as a nurse, my safety and the safety of my family matters too. My need to switch to nursing has prompted me to do some research on emerging infections, which has enlightened me to two emerging infections in particular that are the most threatening to our health right now, that is MRSA (MRSA infection is caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria – often called “staph.” MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It’s a strain of staph that’s resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it. MRSA can be fatal.) and C Diff (Clostridium difficile) (also called C. difficile). C Diff is a bacterium that can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon. Illness from C. difficile most commonly affects older adults in hospitals or in long term care facilities and typically occurs after use of antibiotic medications, (Clostridium difficile can be fatal.)

You need to familiarize yourself with the term C Diff, as this infection is growing at a rate of at least 10 % a year, you may hear that you harbor this bacteria in your bowels normally and that it only infects your system with an overgrowth by killing your own bacteria with antibiotics, allowing C diff bacteria to take over, apparently this is not always true, you may not have the resistant C Diff living normally in your bowels. With nearly a half a million people infected with this debilitating disease, this should be the number one priority at this time, this illness can cause gut wrenching diarrhea, the cramping and depletion of the body and can lead to death of the lining of the intestinal mucosa, and death to the person infected with this bacteria. There have been reports of persons infected with C Diff that have had over 20 diarrhea stools in one day, how debi
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litating this can be, how raw and how much pain can you bear before dying, this has to be one of the worst diseases ever. The people inflicted with this disease may be able to convey just how horrid it can be.

The highest risk factor points to antibiotics, this seems to be the number one factor at this time, which are ordered for infections, many that would be preventable with proper hygiene, including urinary tract infections and respiratory infections. Educate yourself on the use of antibiotics, these should be reserved for true infections, not just for cold symptoms. Prevention is key, when it comes to urinary tract infections, you always wipe from front to back after passing your urine, you never wipe from the back and always avoid getting your stool in the area of your urethra, where your urine comes out, this can lead to a vicious cycle of treating a urinary tract infection with antibiotics which can make you very susceptible to a C Diff infection in your bowels. Use and teach good hand washing techniques, starting with yourself, your children, and others, if your infant has touched any possibly germ ridden surfaces, start by picking up your baby and washing their hands. When you see someone rinsing their hands with a small amount of water, help them learn the importance of using soap and warm water with the proper amount of friction, including under the fingernails to rid their hands of bacteria. Keep your digestive system healthy as your stomach acid naturally kills germs and helps your body absorb vital nutrients. There is an amazingly large percentage of the population using stomach acid reducers, antacids, proton pump inhibitors, examples of proton pump inhibitors include Omeprazole, Lansoprazole, and many more, these reduce your stomach acid and sometimes can inhibit the absorption of calcium protein and more, and may also keep your stomach acid suppressed to the point of not being able to kill invading bacteria and viruses, so talk to your doctor abut the prolonged need for these medications.

My frustration lies with the people who set the standards for nursing, and also give the majority of the people a false sense of security when it comes to prevention, and washing their hands versus using alcohol gel which does not kill this bacteria, C Diff spores can live for up to over a year on most surfaces, I can’t imagine when taking off my gloves on a medication pass and using an alcohol gel on my hands while these C diff spores are doing a happy dance on my clothes and body, only to spread this infection to others. These C Diff spores are found on most surfaces, waiting to germinate in your bowels, touch these surfaces, then touch your mouth and you have ingested theses spores and enabled them to germinate. Common sense would be to wash your hands, arms and clothing as soon as possible. Visit the CDC Hand Hygiene Resource web page to view recommendations for hand hygiene, then take their test as they recommend alcohol based hand gels to kill bacteria, but do you want to kill all bacteria on your hands, and leave c diff to thrive. NO! Once C Diff is identified in any facility, they should have lab testing on various surfaces to begin a rigorous disinfecting process, as this disease is spreading at such a rapid rate, spreading 2 to 3 times faster than MRSA. The only housekeeping products that seem to be effective on C Diff are bleach solutions, not antibacterial products.

Prevention is key to these emerging infections, infection control should be law, not just good practice, and not left to the discretionary spending of any hospital or nursing facility.

By: TRENDYMAGS

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Deanna is a graduate of DAPP with a strong desire for entering the field of nursing, also the CEO of TRENDYMAGS where she sells over 1400 magazine subscriptions at the lowest authorized prices available. TRENDYMAGS currently offers 1,416 magazines. With her wide selection of titles and superior processing and customer service, you can be confident that you will be a satisfied customer.

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