General Chat

Received a letter today from Hospital confirming an appointment for next Month.

The letter included the following:-

"All Patients who are to have an operation or investigations should have a bath or
shower before coming into hospital. This will help the Trusts plans to prevent hospital infection. If you have been unable to bathe or shower please inform the
nurse on admission."

Are Hospitals at long last taking the question of infection seriously?

'The Great Unwashed'.

If all those ill people stopped going to hospital I'm sure they'd be much healthier places to visit ;-)

My letter said the same

If you are to have an operation my last experience was I had to shower in hospital with the prescribed antibiotic and use single use wipes to dry off, which I did.

Then I was felled by a serious infection acquired in the hospital and spent 8 nights in isolation!

I think you'd be at less risk being operated on in your own kitchen.

After picking up norovirus in the hydrotherapy unit we always take our own hand santiser with us for every appointment..lolol

finally ................ they're catching up!!


I went into a hospital here back in about 1977 for a "minor" op, but as usual in those days, I spent 3 days in there.


The first thing they did after I got on the ward, was give me a nightie and a dressing gown

The second thing was to send me down X-ray for a chest X-ray

The third thing was to go and have a shower .................. using Savlon Antiseptic soap




unfortunately that practice stopped soon after ................................



wish ours would now make the same statement in our appointment letters, or when you go for the pre-operation anaesthetic check

Teenage smells are a different matter altogether. If you power-hosed them several times a day & scrubbed them raw with carbolic soap, the unbeatable powers of galloping male hormones would still render your fight a futile one.

The natural smell of a male teenager is a pungent cocktail of stale sweat and Lynx, an antiperspirant spray that purports to smell of Africa, Vice or Dark Temptation – whatever they might be.

To the middle-aged nose like mine at least, the only smell of Africa the youngsters actually give off is the one I might get from animal dung that has hardened over several days in the sub-Saharan sun.

LOL Dermot

recalls I, the days in national service......4TR in Lincoln,

nothing like the delicate aroma in a classroom,
of 20 squaddies that have just done an hours PT,(as it was in those days)

rhythmically punching teleprinter keys or rattling morse code keys.....
Bob

The state of some of the visitors wouldnt go amiss if they had a good scrub and clothes change before they venture onto a ward to loll about on beds,,,,,,,,,,,and in the waiting areas for appt look like they want a good dunking in a hot tub.


No wonder they get infections,

Mind, I was appalled the other day to see the strike nurses etc in uniforms and then after 4 hours of exposure, went back on the wards to resume duties!!! ,,,,,,,boy! our ward sister would have cut you dead,

I was kept in overnight on a Friday in September - then, on the Monday and Tuesday had diahorrea and vomiting. A coincidence?

When my partner went in for an op a few months ago, (in by midday and out by 5pm) he said they swabbed the inside of his nose for infection like mrsa.

I have to go in for an mri scan this coming Wednesday and dread if it shows I need an op. Am so fearful of getting infections while there.

Lizx

I’m extremely fortunate that the few times I’ve ever spent a night in hospital in my life, as far as I know, have been for my own birth and one other minor ailment not worth going on about here.

But I do know that if I was in hospital again, nothing would make me more ill than having to divulge to various visitors the personal details of what caused me to be there in the first place. Yep - I know you'd like to know the full gory story, but not from me!

Worst of all is when visitors come out in empathy, simulating chest pains or the Ebola virus as though this gives them a greater understanding of my condition. I don’t need to know about their aches and pains any more than I want them to know about mine.

After all, one presumes that the purpose of the visit is to cheer me up – not make me long for a spell in solitary confinement or isolation just so I can have a little of peace and quiet away from the likes of them.

Ungrateful, aren't I! Away with ye now!

Sue which hand sanitiser do you use? I know some are said to be worthless. :-S

The Hospital in question is in Newcastle upon Tyne and is one of the Government's nominated Ebola Units.

Many years ago I went voluntary into a hospital near London for a small op. 3mths later all off us who had been on that ward during a 2mths period were re-called for tests for Typhoid and other diseases. It turned out that a staff nurse on our ward was infected and had been working during our stay there.

I transferred hospitals :-)

I personally think no hand sanitizer is effective ...................


it just makes everyone feel better if they use one :-)



Science tells me that just wiping over a surface, or rubbing the hands together, will not remove all the bacteria .................... nor will it kill the bacteria that will be on those surfaces within minutes, or even seconds.



Washing in clean running water (hot or cold), with soap that you lather well, making sure you wash well between your fingers and under your nails .................. and for at least 20 seconds before rinsing well, then dry with a clean or disposable towel, or under a hand dryer ........... is far more effective in my opinion than mere rubbing with a hand sanitizer


Antibacterial soap is no more effective at killing germs than is regular soap ................. and using antibacterial soap may even lead to the development of bacteria that are resistant to the product's antimicrobial agents, thus making it harder to kill these germs in the future.


If you must use a hand sanitizer, make sure the product contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Then apply enough of the product to the palm of your hand to wet your hands completely and rub your hands together, covering all surfaces, until your hands are dry.

Antimicrobial wipes or towelettes are another possibly effective option. Make sure the product contains a high percentage of alcohol.



But as I say, my personal opinion is that the hand sanitizers are effective only for a very short period of time, and really only make you feel safe.


Plus using that much alcohol will dry your skin out.





No doubt about it ................. hand sanitizers and wipes are a big money maker :-)