C-diff epidemic in USA and Europe hits home. (Personal update)

Your help is needed to battle super germs (Yes, You...Your help)

What you can do to help stop the epidemic:

1. Wash your hands with soap and water frequently. (Alcohol scrubs don't kill, "C. diff,"a spore former.)
2. Do not use antibacterial soaps.
3. Be sure you re-test for the causal agent after any course of antibiotics.
4. Use probiotics (Unsweetened yogurt with live cultures (Add fruit and sugar at home if desired., raw fermented cabbage, kimchee, raw sauerkraut (homemade)), or tablets).
5. Post the list of what should be cleaned in your hospital room if you go to the hospital.  (Don't believe naively that it is because the patient's resistance is down...).
6. Note that alcohol (including the convenient foam scrubs) doesn't kill spore formers.  Use soap and water... the old-fashioned bar soaps.
7. Encourage others you know to join the fight against super germs.  Get antibiotics out of our meats and dish detergents, soaps and laundry detergents.  Was your hands with soap and water often.  When you need to take a prescribed antibiotic, follow the directions, do what your medical doctor says, and also, get re-tested after you finish the prescribed course of antibiotics, if possible.

You can get a chart for current recommended cleaning at the CDC:  TERMINAL CLEANING

http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/toolkits/Environmental-Cleaning-Eval-Worksheet-10-6-2010.xls
Just having a copy of this evaluation worksheet lets hospital personnel know you are savvy about important medical issues.  Being savvy may get you better medical care.

The worksheet is an Excel (R) spreadsheet that keeps data  for each surface on the check list for every room monitored. It uses the following symbols for marking:
O = NOT CLEAN,    X = CLEAN,   LEAVE BLANK = NOT EVALUABLE     NOTE - USE CAP LETTERS "X" AND "O"

What is cleaned in each room?  (Or, what should be cleaned in each room?)
Bathroom Surfaces
Equipment Surfaces
Surfaces Cleaned for Each Room
Bed rails
Tray table
IV pole
Call box / button
Telephone Bedside table handle
Chair
Room sink
Room light switch
Room inner doorknob
BR(Bathroom) inner doorknob
BR light switch
BR handrails
BR sink
Toilet seat
Toilet flush handle
Toilet bedpan cleaner
IV pump control
Monitor controls
Monitor touch screen
Monitor cables
Ventilator pane

Add....stethoscopes and similar equipment...  Dr. J

Alcohol is not sufficient to kill the super germs. 
Earlier post, which still contains useful information:
I haven't written in a while because my mother was in the hospital for an elective procedure (The medical people incorrectly thought it would give my Dad a rest) where she contracted a hospital super germ Clostridium difficile. This super germ causes a serious infection of the colon and can kill you. She is 89 and survived, thank God. To avoid or lessen such disasters, soap and water and chlorine bleach should be used for cleaning at hospitals.

To help stop the epidemic:

1. Wash your hands with soap and water frequently. (Alcohol scrubs don't kill, "C. diff,"a spore former.)
2. Do not use antibacterial soaps.
3. Be sure you re-test for the causal agent after any course of antibiotics.
4. Use probiotics (Unsweetened yogurt with live cultures (Add fruit and sugar at home if desired., raw fermented cabbage, kimchee, raw sauerkraut (homemade)), or tablets).

For more information on Clostridium difficile and other super germs, check out the CDC web sites (Center for Disease Control):  http://www.cdc.gov/hai/organisms/cdiff/Cdiff_settings.html.

I am preparing for the Botanical Society Meetings which will be held in Vancouver this year, jointly with other societies. I will be writing more soon.


Originally published on 29 June 2008 10:44 AM Pacific Standard Time
Revised 5 March 2014 to include the following: