Nosocomial Infections: Mishaps in the Hospital

In the two occasions when my elder brother and I had to bring our mother to the hospital, our younger sister begged off from accompanying us. And even while our mother was confined in the hospital for pneumonia, our sister asked that we excuse her from taking her turn at watching over during the confinement. No, she wasn't particularly concerned about catching pneumonia herself, passed on from our mom, and then taking the infection home to her kids. Rather, she feared contracting an illness from other sources inside the hospital itself - a case of having nosocomephobia.

For some people, my sister included, going to a hospital - not necessarily as the patient - can be worrisome. They cite certain mishaps that can happen to them right inside the hospital, as in contracting hospital-based illnesses, or what are known as nosocomial infections. Even other people who take a trip to a hospital for treatment of certain problems fear that their condition may worsen because of nosocomial infections. There were known cases, in fact, when some patients became critically ill (or even died), not because of their initial illness, but because of an infection or a disease they caught while in the hospital.

Contracting nosocomial infections is not something that's hard to understand, considering that a medical facility, such as a hospital, is full of ailing people from whom emanate a variety of infections, including pneumonia, gastrointestinal microorganisms, and staphylococci (bacteria that cause food poisoning and skin infections). During medical care in a hospital, punctures, cut, perforations, or even hemorrhages can take place. This is when patients are most susceptible to nosocomial infections.

Preventing nosocomial infections should be easy if only hospitals will carry out certain measures effectively. For example, hospital staff must observe adequate hand washing or, more specifically, must wash their hands between patients and even before putting their gloves on. Having infection-control specialists assigned round-the-clock can also effectively prevent the spread of infections, with them ensuring that the entire hospital, and everything that's in it, is kept clean (not just being concerned with the equipment's sterilization); one can catch infections even from bed rails.

While it is the hospital's responsibility to ensure that patients (and even their visitors) do not contract nosocomial infections, there are certain steps that you, as the patient, can also take to protect yourself. If, for instance, you notice that your room appears unclean, tell your nurse about it. You can also request that anyone attending to you, or entering your room, should first wash their hands thoroughly. In case you are to go through an invasive procedure, make sure that all those who will perform it have fresh, sterile gloves on. [Read the Original Article]

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosocomial_infection and http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=4590