By Nancy Montgomery
CONSUMER HEALTH INTERACTIVEBelow:
• Protect yourself
When an illness lands you in the hospital, the last thing you expect is that your stay will cause you to get sicker. But for about 5 percent of hospital patients, that's exactly what happens. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year about 1.7 million patients get at least one unwanted visitor -- an infection. What's more, each year nearly 99,000 people die from hospital-acquired infections. Protect yourself In recent years, hospitals have worked hard to reduce these statistics, resulting in a 30 percent drop in the number of infections over the last decade. However, it still makes sense to do what you can to protect yourself. If you're worried about not feeling well enough to stay on top of things, ask a friend or relative to stay with you in the hospital and serve as your advocate. Here are some other tips: • Make sure doctors and nurses wash their hands before examining you. The CDC cites hand washing as the single most effective way to control the spread of disease. |
| •Wash your own hands carefully after using the bathroom or handling soiled materials: Scrub for at least 15 seconds with warm, soapy water. |
| •If you're receiving fluids through an intravenous catheter, let your nurse know if the dressing around it becomes wet or soiled. |
| •Infections from urinary catheters are common, so these dressings should be clean and dry, and the catheter should not remain in longer than necessary. |
| •Keep an eye on wound dressings and drainage tubes, and let your nurse know if they become loose or wet. |
| •Ask friends and family not to visit if they're feeling ill. |
| •If you need surgery and are overweight, losing a few pounds before you go in the hospital can help reduce your risk of post-surgery infection. |
| •Be extra vigilant if you have diabetes because high blood sugar increases your risk of infection. Work with your doctor to control your blood sugar before, during, and after your hospital stay. |
| •Don't be afraid to ask questions! Understanding your treatment plan will make it easier for you to be involved in your own recovery. |
When you're ill or need surgery, playing watchdog may be the last thing you feel like doing. But paying attention to cleanliness and asking questions can help you have a shorter and healthier hospital stay.
References
Preventing Infections in the Hospital – What You as a Patient Can Do. National Patient Safety Foundation.
Why is handwashing important? CDC Division of Media Relations. March 6, 2000. http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r2k0306c.htm
Richard Sim, RN, MBA. Facts on Hospital Infections. Infectionctrl-Online. http://infectionctrl-online.com/hospital_infections.html.
Terri Whitmore-Howard, MT, MPH, CIC. Hospitals take aim at staph, other infections. The Oak Ridger. Last updated August 7, 2002. http://www.oakridger.com/stories/080702/hea_0807020049.html
Hospital Infections Statistics. AskLynnRn. http://www.asklynnrn.com/html/healthcon_preposthospital_home.htm
Centers for Disease Control. Estimates of Healthcare-Associated Infections. May 2007. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/hai.html
Reviewed by Michael Potter, M.D., an attending physician and associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco. He is board-certified in family practice.
Last updated March 24, 2009
Copyright © 2002 Consumer Health Interactive
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