Prevention of Wound Infection - Essay Example

Hands must be decontaminated with alcohol based product after contact with body fluids, excretions, mucous membrane contact, no intact skin contact, or wound dressings as long as hands are not visibly soiled. After contact with a patient's intact skin (as when taking a blood pressure) it also should be used. When it is necessary to move from a contaminated body site to a non-contaminated body site, before caring for patients with neutropenia, before putting on sterile gloves for inserting catheters, when helping with any procedure, and after removing gloves.

Hand wash between every patient, when hands are visibly dirty and when cannot tolerate alcohol based products (CDC.gov) Standard precautions should be used with every patient, whether there is infection or not. The tenet accepted here is that all patients are colonized with some organism which you do not want to carry to the other patient (Edmonston, Krepe, WIlson, et.al, 2008). Using standard precautions means the use of gloves, and other barriers when necessary and Hand Washing. It also includes proper handling of patient care equipment and linen, environmental control, prevention of injury with sharps, and how patients are placed when admitted to a facility.

When it becomes necessary, standard precautions must move to isolation precautions. Isolations precautions are determined by . If a wound becomes infected, it is contact (Smeltzer, Bare, Hinkle, & Cheever, 2008).In the case of surgical wound or other clean wound, however, there is more that will need to be done, that is called aseptic technique. They include the use of only sterile materials within the sterile field. Sterile surfaces and articles may touch other sterile surfaces only. If they touch any other area, they are no longer sterile.

Knowing when to use sterile supplies and knowing when to use clean supplies becomes very important. Changing a surgical dressing correctly and keeping the area clean is important, as well as keeping the overall patient and bedding clean.Policies are must be in place to assure that everyone is following wound care techniques as determined to be the best at all times. Proper hygiene for the nurse and all other healthcare workers is mandatory. Educating the patient as well as far as keeping hands away from dressing and washing hands often or using alcohol based solution and not laying things across a dressing.

Disposal of rubbish is important using the proper technique and doing it often, especially if there is any kind of matter that contains any drainage or dried blood.Nutrition is not often thought of but patients do poorly and get infections faster if their nutritional status is not good. It may be important to supplement the patient that is unable to eat because of surgery, for example. The patient who has had abdominal surgery may need PPN or TPN to keep his protein levels high enough to help him heal.

Moving the patient quickly not only stimulates circulation and bowel action but also helps the patient to prepare to go home faster and it is well know that being out of the hospital is the best thing for