Reduce the risk for infections after your child’s pediatric surgery in Orange County, CA.
Everyone knows that a hospital is a place you go to get better when you are sick. However, it’s also a breeding ground for all sorts of germs. Mixing germs can then spread an infection to patients that stay in the hospital. While there’s always a risk of acquiring an infection, there are steps you can take as a visitor to help reduce the risk of spreading germs. Check out these tips to help prevent hospital-acquired infections in your child after pediatric surgery in Orange County, CA.
Wash your hands. Personal hygiene is perhaps one of the easiest and best defenses against spreading germs, both in and out of a hospital. When you’re visiting a hospital, make sure to be vigilant about your hand washing. Be sure to wash or sanitize before entering the patient’s room, as you leave the waiting room, and after you touch anything in the hospital like elevator buttons. You can even make a “Please Wash Your Hands” sign out near the patients to serve as a friendly reminder to other visitors to wash their hands.
Ensure that hospital staff wash their hands. Whether it’s the doctor, the nurse, or the janitor, make sure that they sanitize their hands prior to entering and exiting the patient’s room. We’re all human and sometimes we forget. Also, be sure that all healthcare personnel who have physical contact with patients wear gloves in addition to washing their hands.
Ask the physician to sterilize his or her equipment. You don’t know where that stethoscope has been and you don’t know if it’s been cleaned. Before the doctor goes to examine the patient, ask them to wipe down his or her equipment for added patient protection.
Strive for a private room. While it may not always be available, if possible, ask if the patient can have a private room. There will be less action and fewer visitors, therefore, lowering the risk of spreading harmful bacteria.
Stay away if you’re feeling ill. While you may want to visit a loved one in the hospital, your feeling under the weather may do more harm than good. You may spread your germs to the patient which, could make them ill. Be safe and stay home if you’re not feeling well.
After your child’s pediatric surgery in Orange County, CA, be sure to keep them healthy. Be sure to contact Pediatric Surgical Associates for all your pediatric needs. Our Orange County pediatric surgeons are experts at protecting your kids’ health, and wellness!