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Germ warfare: The real battle for survival is with germs not people. BUT People keep transmitting germs - how can we reduce transmission?
The 4th leading cause of death in North America is a disease you acquire when your are IN a HOSPITAL. The total number of deaths surpasses all deaths from murder and traffic accidents combined!
Why should hospitals make people sick when we know how to prevent transmission of disease? With more and more infections becoming resistant to antibiotics how do we convince people to do the simple things like washing their hands?
The main question here is how can we encourage hospital staff to clean their hands (actually studies indicate that they are doing it only 30% of the time when they should)?
The complicating factors include:
The highly stressed environment in which many medical personnel work where time demands are great (thus they feel that they do not have time to wash or use alcohol rub).
Patients feel vulnerable and do not feel empowered to ask medical professionals to clean their hands before touching their bodies.
Incremental cost increases in using more product and the time cost of use.
Debra Smith 200+
Here is an important excerpt that outlines some of the problems associated with this work:
Several reasons may explain why a simple checklist protocol is not more widely adapted:
Many physicians do not like being monitored by nurses or otherwise being forced to follow a checklist;
A wish to avoid standardized tasks and bureaucracy; and
A focus by researchers on "more exciting" issues such as disease biology and new treatment therapies.[12]
According to Pronovost:[6]
The fundamental problem with the quality of American medicine is that we’ve failed to view delivery of health care as a science. The tasks of medical science fall into three buckets. One is understanding disease biology. One is finding effective therapies. And one is ensuring those therapies are delivered effectively. That third bucket has been almost totally ignored by research funders, government, and academia. It’s viewed as the art of medicine. That’s a mistake, a huge mistake. And from a taxpayer’s perspective it’s outrageous.
An internationally recognized expert on hospital safety,
Jimmy Strobl 30+
I'm not going too deep into this yet Debra but I'll be thankful for any and all info or plans that you've got so far!
Jimmy Strobl 30+
Some days ago I read about this doctor Peter Pronovost, with some simple steps he has managed to drop infection rates in some hospitals in the U.S from 11% to 0!!!
I'm heading out right now and I probably won't be online for a day or two so I just wanted to share this before I left, I really think that it's worth looking deeper into this!
Here's the Wiki to get you started! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pronovost
nick edward
Salim Solaiman 50+
In hospital , people stays when they are sick , so they are vulnerable both to their own germs and germs other patient. Yes washing hands and taking other preventive care will help but it can't stop it full because germs can transmit through other media as well , like air, water etc etc.
One interesting observation is that people who lives in natural condition or even a bit poor hyginic condition are more protected from germs as they have already developed some immunity in natural way when they were healthy , so they don't immediately fall victim. More sterile environment we live .. more susceptable we are to germ.... well I am not telling that we all should live in unhygenic condition by saying that .... just mentioning the observation.
Major challenge is how we really can keep hospital environment more sterile. The resistance to antibiotic is a big challenge , because of the abuse and poor compliance to antibiotic therapy that gives opportunity germs to mutate for the safeguard of own life.... which is a natural instinct....
Moreover no significant R&D is going on in this area due to different , commercial and regulatory reason.......
It's really a subject of significane you came up as usual
Debra Smith 200+
What ever happened to the old adage: Cleanliness is next to godliness?
Tim blackburn 30+
Laurens Rademakers 50+
The reverse is true too: we have become too hygienic.
The number of children with allergies has skyrocketed, because kids no longer play in the mud and in dirty streets.
Germs are both our best friends and our worst enemies. We need to have a working relationship with these subjects.
Jimmy Strobl 30+
Laurens Rademakers 50+
Well that's because once you're in a hospital, you're generally not in a very healthy state...
Building your immune system begins at birth, when a baby's tongue comes into contact with the mother's urine, faeces and filthy breasts.
Did you know doctors and midwives in my country now have the habit of giving new born infants a brief "lick" of these "filthy" bacteria, seconds after they're born?
Next comes playing outside, in the garden, in the mud, and in the dirt. Very important.
Modernist architecture and urban planning have declared war on germs, long ago. The consequences have not all been that positive.
It's all a matter of finding the right balance.
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Jimmy Strobl 30+
My comment to Laurens was only pointing out that Hospitals (which the conversation is mostly about) isn't the right place to train your immune system, since death is likely...
Debra Smith 200+
Jimmy Strobl 30+
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Jimmy Strobl 30+
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Debra Smith 200+
Debra Smith 200+
If however, we stay on topic, it is clear that we should be able to stop a lot of deaths every year by simply getting people in hospitals- primarily staff to wash and sanitize their hands.
Laurens Rademakers 50+
Debra, I wish to disagree. There is ample evidence for the assertion.
1. Farm kids have fewer allergies than city kids.
2. Kids with pets have fewer allergies than kids without pets.
3. Kids who have been given bacteria from the mother's faeces right after birth have less allergies than kids who haven't.
And a few days ago, there was this world news:
"Scientists Discover That Antimicrobial Wipes and Soaps May Be Making You (and Society) Sick"
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=scientists-discover-that-antimicrob-2011-07-05
In short, the evidence for the hypothesis that too much hygiene makes one weak, is growing steadily.
We already know that the over-use of antibiotics makes super-bugs. That's why in my country there's now an anti-antibiotics law, which says doctors can only subscribe it when it's extremely necessary, and if they do not take care, they are contributing to making our society weak. Official policy!
Debra Smith 200+
Scott Armstrong 50+
Population will need to be curbed at some point. Funny how nature irons things out..
Jimmy Strobl 30+
Debra Smith 200+
While I agree that we should not be using soaps with ingredients like triclosan, It is an error to disuade people from sanitizing their hands. The recent research indicates that alcohol kills every germ it contacts while wet on contact and leaves none wounded to continue and gain resistance. It your hands are not obviously gritty or soiled, hands are better off with alcohol gels (it kills all the germs and it preserves the skin). In places like Canada where the weather gets cold the ingredients in soaps 'defat' the hands- meaning it draws fluid out of the tissues and it along with rough towelling causes microabrasions which allow the entry of germs. YIKES! When exposed to the further damage caused by cold weather, hands become reservoirs of disease (and they start to hurt making it less likely that people will clean their hands.
anthony bruni 30+
Muhammad Aizat Zainal Alam 30+
Debra Smith 200+
anthony bruni 30+
Maxime Touzel
Increase the funds of scientific research. Research enough in genetics to understand the DNA language. Research for new possibilities and develop new treatments with synthetic biology and genetic engineering.
Debra Smith 200+
When I had my first child the manditory hospital stay was 7 days with my last I was out in 12 hours.
When I had my cancer surgery I was out in 4 days with a large hole in my body which was treated (and healed perfectly) by health care aides at my own home. Times are changing and will continue to do so.
I really strongly suggest that no one enter a hosptial without an advocate who is brave enough and tough enough to insist that everyone who touches the patient in any way sanitizes their hands! We owe that sort of love and care to one another.
Richard Dawson 30+
Simple eliminate people. No people - no transmission.
Jimmy Strobl 30+
Jimmy Strobl 30+
Krisztián Pintér 200+
http://www.vhemt.org/
Jimmy Strobl 30+
Richard Dawson 30+
Jimmy Strobl 30+
Helen Hupe 30+
Jimmy Strobl 30+
A bit of dark humor isn't that bad every now and then is it?
Helen Hupe 30+
Debra Smith 200+
The idea that we need to make clear to all people is that they not only have the right but the responsibility to demand that healthcare staff clean their hands. Some of these conditions are painful and life threatening. In my area a year or two ago 60 people died in one hosptial from c. difficile. The news papers ran a profile a day of each person to increase awareness.
Helen Hupe 30+
It is considered the Mayo Clinic of the south. It is a teaching hospital, hosting the Texas A&M School of Medicine. There is also a big VA Hospital. Each year the church I attend devotes one Sunday to honor the people who work in the medical field. They ask the medics to stand up and half the congregation stands. It is one of the biggest employers in Temple. They really try. Every nook and cranny has germicide available.
Debra Smith 200+
Any ideas on how to get people to seriously enact the hand washing policies?
Jimmy Strobl 30+
Maybe getting doctors and nurses to join this conversation is a good start ;)
Debra Smith 200+