Blog - Getting medical care? How to avoid getting an infection (2 March 2020)

Summary

This article by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides advice for patients about steps they can take to help avoid catching healthcare-associated infections, which can ultimately lead to sepsis and even death. It outlines ten things patients and their families can do to protect themselves or their loved ones while receiving medical care.

1. Speak up
2. Keep hands clean
3. Ask each day if your central line catheter or urinary catheter is necessary
4. Prepare for surgery
5. Ask your healthcare provider, “Will there be a new needle, new syringe, and a new vial for this procedure or injection?”
6. Be antibiotics aware
7. Watch out for deadly diarrhoea (aka Clostridium difficile)
8. Know the signs and symptoms of infection
9. Get vaccinated
10. Cover your mouth and nose