 |
| (Google Image) |
Nurse Diane
Recently
a friend of mine was moving a freezer with his son. His son's finger got trapped between the wall
and the freezer, causing him to suffer a severe cut and required stitches from
the emergency room. My friend was
worried about the possibility of infection getting in the cut, afraid that his
son was not concerned about the proper care of his injury. I gave him instructions on how to clean the
wound and change the dressing, and his finger is healing nicely.
The
best way to prevent infection is cleaning.
This applies to wounds as well as preventing the spread of colds. The number one way to prevent the spread of
infections is proper hand washing. Just
using soap and water, and a little friction and cleaning the nail beds will
prevent the spreading of germs.
 |
| (Google Image) |
There
has been some discussion that the use of Anti-bacterial soap will cause the
mutation of germs that are resistant to these agents. The growth of Super germs has been discussed
in the media. Science is constantly
evolving to combat these organisms to continue to stop the spread of
infections.
Some
important things to remember are:
- Wash your hands with soap before and after handling food
- Wash your hands when you use the bathroom
- Wash after playing with animals
- Wash your hands after touching door knobs or grocery cart handles
- Cover your mouth when coughing
- Use a Kleenex or handkerchief for sneezing
- Keep hands away from your eyes and mouth
- Keep open wounds clean and covered.
I
also encourage people in areas with small children or where groups of people
gather, to use Lysol to kill germs, especially during the cold and flu season.
 |
| (Google Image) |
This
week is Infection Prevention week.
Remember to wash your hands, especially if you are ill, and do your part
to prevent the spread of infection to others around you.
No comments:
Post a Comment