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| Prevent the Spread of Infection
By Geeta Khare, M.D. Last month, we discussed the phenomenon of “superbugs”. These are germs that cause infections that are particularly challenging to treat. The next logical question is how to prevent the spread of infection. What is the best way to keep from getting a cold? Avoid being around people who have a cold. Most cold virus is released from the body in the first three days of a cold. If you cannot avoid the person with a cold, you should wash your hands frequently and avoid close contact. If you have a problem with your immune system, you may want to avoid crowds or large gatherings. Since you may not know who around you has a cold and may be infectious, frequent hand washing is important at all times. Is there a special way to wash my hands? The key is to wash your hands with soap and running water. It is important to do this for a fifteen to twenty seconds--as long as it takes to sing the ABC song or the“Row, row, row your boat”song. What about the daycare environment? Children in daycare are at particular risk for getting colds as well as more serious infections. Ask your daycare provider what their hand washing policy is. Children and caregivers should be washing their hands several times a day, not just before eating or after the bathroom. Also, make sure the daycare strictly enforces their “sick child” policy. Do hand sanitizers really work? Yes, they do. However, only those that are greater than 60% alcohol are effective. In fact, in one study, a 40% alcohol based sanitizer actually made the situation WORSE! What about food preparation? When it comes to food preparation, there are some special considerations. Wash your hands before and after preparing food. Don’t put a spoon that you just tasted off of back in the food. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Be particularly careful with meat and meat juices—especially poultry. Wash raw foods thoroughly. Don’t eat undercooked foods—especially meat. Promptly refrigerate leftovers. Are there any additional precautions I can take to prevent the spread of infection? Use antibiotics wisely. Keep immunizations up to date. Use safe sexual practices. Don’t share personal care items. Don’t use I.V. drugs. If you use I.V. drugs, definitely don’t share needles. Travel wisely. Keep your pets healthy. Don’t touch someone else’s open sores or infected wounds. Don’t go out if you have signs and symptoms of infection—be kind, don’t infect others. If you have an infection and you cannot avoid being around others, wash your own hands frequently, have others do the same and keep your distance as much as possible. ---Next months article is “The Dark Side of being ‘Germophobic’” |
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