September 15-People who bring babies to the hospital

[zyzyly]

It probably comes as a surprise to some, but hospitals aren't clean white buildings where people get well. They are disease repositories, where every bacteria you could ever imagine thrives and multiplies. I'd like to say we do our best to keep it controlled but we don't.

I enforce strict isolation procedures with my students. They have to follow the rules, without deviation. You forgot to get something out of your pocket before you put on an isolation gown? Well, then you have to start over.

Meanwhile, while I am telling students that they have to do all these things, the respiratory therapist comes in, ignores the contact precaution sign other than putting gloves on (without washing her hands), and proceeds to contaminate everything she is carrying with her. In a futile gesture, she wipes the diaphragm of her stethoscope with an alcohol pad. She moves on to the next room, bringing whatever was growing in this room with her. As my student watches, and wonders why he has to gown up every time.

Meanwhile the doctor comes in, with a gown on, but reaches into her pocket to pull out her stethoscope to listen to the patient's lungs, then puts it back in her lab coat pocket, ensuring a gift of antibiotic-resistant bacteria for the next patient whose lungs she listens to. Hopefully that patient has a strong immune system.

I had a friend once who became seriously ill and ended up in the ICU. One of the last things she said as the physician was getting ready to intubate her, was "Did you wash your hands?" She knew.

As I was walking out of the hospital today, I saw a woman walking in with a two-month old baby. A baby with an immune system that is no match for the environment. Don't bring babies to the hospital.

After I saw that woman and her baby, I walked out and saw that there was a big fire on the American River Parkway, just north of the hospital.

Comments

[basefinder.livejournal.com]

I'm reading more and more about how hospitals make a lot of sick people worse, especially seniors.

Do you think you've built up extra immunity from spending so much time there?

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

I do--I can feel things trying to take hold and just giving up. My immune system rocks.

[wantedonvoyage.livejournal.com]

So it's probably a good thing that lengthy stays are a lot more rare than they used to be, innit, even though it's more a cost factor than preventative?

When HCD brought his grandmother to get her chemo port installed they told her she was "probably going to end up in the hospital with an infection". How encouraging.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

It is a good thing--people should get out of there as soon as they can.

Chemo ports, with meticulous care, won't necessarily get infected. My first wife had an inserted line for more than 6 months that never got infected.

[lifeinroseland.livejournal.com]

All day long I'm disgusted by how casually a lot of people take important precautions. All. Day. Long. I'd love for Purell to be drinkable some day.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

I had a patient once who tried drinking the alcohol gel we use to clean our hands.

[neptunia67.livejournal.com]

People don't think... or they become complacent. Or both.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

Part of it is that it takes time to do it correctly, and that time isn't factored into their workload, like so many other things.

[neptunia67.livejournal.com]

That makes sense.

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

And then when you find one person who actually pays attention, you want to kiss them.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah.

[pinkroo.livejournal.com]

I watch the drs go into the MRSA patients rooms without any precautions, and I wonder why they are so cavalier. And yes, ppl bring babies to our unit; not as scary as some, probably, but still...

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

Yeah--I wonder too.