Chapter 13 NA Flashcards
What Immune Responses fight off infection?
- blood vessels bring blood to the infection site
- White blood cells eat pathogens
- Fever, which causes the environment for the pathogens to be too hot, and die
What are Mucous Membranes?
They secrete and destroy pathogens- lines all organ systems that open to the outside of the body
What do Nonspecific Defense Mechanisms do?
They help to protect us from all infections
What is the first line of defense against infection?
Healthy skin
What is Antibodies?
specialized proteins produced by the immune system that help our bodies to fight off specific pathogens, preventing infection
What is a pathogen?
a microbe that can cause illnesses
Where do pathogens prefer to live?
In an environment that is warm, moist, dark, and with proper amounts of oxygen
Types of Microbes?
- Bacteria
- Viruses
- Fungi
- Parasites insects
- Helminth worms
- Protozoa
What is a microbe?
a living thing that cannot be seen with the naked eye
What is Specific Defense Mechanisms?
they help to protect us from certain infections
Why does our bodies produce antibodies?
following exposure to certain pathogens; the exposure may come from a previous infections with the pathogen or through a vaccination
What does antibiotics do?
it treats bacterial infections
What does antimicrobial do?
used to treat fungal and parasitic infections
What does antiviral agents do?
Used to treat viral infections
What is airborne pathogens?
pathogens that can be transmitted through the air
Examples of airborne pathogens?
-Tuberculosis
-Measles
- Chickenpox
What is oral-fecal route?
a method of transmitting an infection; occurs when feces containing a pathogen contaminate food or water, which is then consumed by another person
Examples of oral-fecal route?
-Hepatitis A
-Hepatitis E
-Vancomycin resistant enterococcus
- some types of parasitic infections
what is a bloodborne pathogen?
can be transmitted to another person through blood or other body fluids
examples of a bloodborne pathogens?
- Hepatitis B
-Hepatitis C
-Malaria
-Syphilis - Ebola
- HIV/AIDS
Body fluids that could contain a bloodborne pathogen?
- Needlesticks
- blood
-semen - vaginal secretions
-wound drainage - cerebrospinal fluid
-amniotic fluid - breast milk
What is the first step of the chain of infection?
Pathogen
What is the second step of the chain of infection?
Reservoir
What is the third step of the chain of infection?
Portal of Exit
What is the fourth step of the chain of infection?
Method of Transmission
What is the fifth step of the chain of infection
Portal of Entry
What is the sixth step of the chain of infection?
A susceptible host
What is Reservoir?
A place where the pathogen can live and grow
Where can a reservoir be found?
in the human body, food and water, and contaminated objects
What is a portal of exit?
A way for the pathogen to leave the reservoir
Where can the portal of exit be found?
through the digestive tract, respiratory tract, urinary or reproductive tract, or through the skin in blood or pus
What is the method of transmission?
A way for the pathogen to get from one person to another
Examples of Method of Transmission
- touching an infected person
- breathing infected air
- eating or drinking contaminated food or fluids
- touching contaminated objects
-vectors such as mosquitos, rodents, and ticks
What is a Portal of Entry?
A way for the pathogen to enter the new person’s body
Examples of a portal of entry
Through the digestive tract, respiratory tract, urinary or reproductive tract, or through breaks in the skin
Who is a good susceptible host?
- A very young or old person
- A person in poor general health
- A person who is stressed and tired
- A person with an indwelling medical device
How do you break the chain of infection?
removing one of the six key elements
What is healthcare associated infection (HAI)
infections that the patients or residents get while receiving treatment in a hospital or other health care facility or that health care workers get while performing their duties within a health care setting
What is healthcare associated infection (HAI)
infections that the patients or residents get while receiving treatment in a hospital or other health care facility or that health care workers get while performing their duties within a health care setting
What is a Nosocomial Infections?
Infections that patients or residents get while receiving treatments in a hospital or other healthcare facility
What is Medical Asepsis?
techniques that are used to physically remove or kill pathogens
What techniques are used in medical asepsis
- sanitization
- antisepsis
- disinfection
-sterilization
What is Surgical Asepsis?
used for procedures that involve entering a person’s body, such as surgical procedures, injections, insertion of catheters, and insertion of urinary catheters
What is PPE?
barriers that are worn to physically prevent microbes from reaching a health care providers skin or mucous membranes
examples of PPE?
- Gloves
-Gowns
-Masks
-Goggles
What is the order of putting on PPE?
-Gown
-Mask
-Eyewear
-Gloves
What is the order for removing PPE?
- Gloves
-Eyewear
-Mask
-Gowns
What is transient flora?
microbes that picked up by touching contaminated objects or people who have infectious diseases
What is tuberculosis?
an airborne infection caused by bacterium that usually infects the lungs
What is isolation precautions?
guidelines that we follow to contain pathogens and limits others exposure to them as much as possible
What is transmission based precautions?
used when a person is known or thought to have an infection that is transmitted in a certain way
Airborne precautions
Used when caring for people infected with airborne pathogens
Droplet precautions
used when caring for people with diseases caused by pathogens that are transmitted by direct exposure to droplets released from the mouth or nose
Contact precautions
used when caring for people with diseases caused by pathogens that are transmitted directly or indirectly
Standard Precautions
safeguards that a health care worker takes with each patients or resident to prevent contract with bloodborne pathogens; include the use of barrier methods as well as certain environmental controls
What is the most important method of precenting the spread of infection
Proper hand hygiene
