If you are going into the hospital for testing or surgery, you don’t want to come out feeling worse than you did when you went in! But what’s the real chance of contracting a hospital-acquired infection?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that five or six out of every one hundred people who are admitted to a hospital end up with some kind of hospital-acquired infection. But that rate can drop by a third if appropriate measures are taken.
Anything that enters the body — like an I.V. or a urinary catheter — can give infection a route into the body. Don’t be shy when it comes to things being stuck in your body; speak up and remind health care folks to keep their hands clean before handling your catheters. A ventilator can be an even bigger infection risk; it bypasses the natural defenses built into your upper respiratory system. Outside organism can take this express route into your lungs.
Surgery length has an effect on your chances of developing infection. The longer the surgery is, the greater your chance of a surgical site infection. That just makes sense when you think about it — your body isn’t supposed to be laid open for long amounts of time!
After you’re out of the recovery room, you can start policing your own health and body. Follow your doctor’s instructions on incision care, and don’t be afraid to tell health care professionals if they are doing something unsanitary — like coughing without covering their mouths. Do what you can to keep your surgical sites and incisions clean and sterile to help keep hospital-acquired infections at bay.
There are things you can do to prevent infection before you go into the hospital!
- Be in good health. Eat a balanced diet and get exercise.
- Be a healthy weight. Extra weight is a strain on your body in more ways than one.
- Quit smoking.