Infections spread both by touch and through the air. Healthy people can usually fend them off, or may get only mildly sick from them. But someone with a compromised immune system or an open wound will be at risk for getting very sick or even dying from an infection. It's wise for us to understand how these infections spread:
Touch: Every surface in a hospital is suspect for carrying infection germs. From the telephone, to the TV remote, to the doctors' stethoscope, to the catheters used in patients, to bed linens, bed rails, bathrooms and door handles - to PEOPLE - everything.
Included in the touch category would be infections that are introduced through tools and devices like surgical instruments or catheters.
Airborne: Some infection germs may be airborne through coughing or sneezing. A roommate with pneumonia can transfer pathogens to the other roommate. A patient with an upper-respiratory infection may be pacing the halls, walking off anesthesia, and cough or sneeze germs to another patient.
Many of the infections that spread in hospitals are old and familiar. You've heard terms like "staph infection" or pneumonia. They are just two of an entire host of hospital acquired infections. Others you may, or may not have heard of. All these infections can be deadly:
- MRSA
- C.Diff.
- VRE
- CRKP
- Necrotizing fasciitis (pronouncing fas-she-eye-tis), also known as flesh-eating bacteria
- Central line infections are not a specific germ, but a method of transfer
- You may also have heard the terms "sepsis" or "septicemia" - blood transfer of infections
