Lesson 1 - Concepts of Medical Hygiene Flashcards
Define health
The state of complete physical, mental, and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease of infirmity
Define hygiene
The science of preventing disease and promoting health instead
What is an infectious agent?
It is anything that can be transmitted from one person to the other, or from the environment to a person, which will cause the individual to have an infection or parasitic infection
What are the five different categories of infectous agents?
Bacteria, viruses, fungi, helminths (worms), and protozoa
What is a pathogen?
an organism that causes disease
What is meant by ‘colonization’?
It is bacteria that lives in or on our human bodies and organs, however they are harmless and necessary for normal functions (overgrowth of dangerous bacteria)
What are healthcare associated infections?
When people get infected while they are receiving heath care for another condition
State the 4 most common health care associated infections
Urinary tract infection, bloodstream infection, surgical site infection, and ventilator associated events
How are health care associated infections prevented?
Policies and procedures, hand hygiene by all staff and patients, consistently sanitize and clean health care environment and equipment
Define Universal Precautions
An approachto infection control to treat all human blood and bodily fluids as if they have bloodborne pathogens
What are the methods of infection control?
Hand hygiene, gloves, facial protection, gown, preventing needles and injuries from someone else, coughing etiquette, Respiratpry hygiene, environmental cleaning, and linens
What are bloodborne pathogens?
micro organisms that can be found in human blood which can cause disease
What are the bodily fluids that we are universally careful towards?
blood, semen and vaginal secretions, Cerebrospinal (CSF), synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial, and amniotic fluid
How are blood borne pathogens spread?
Direct contact, indirect contact, respiratory droplet transmission, vector borne transmissions (a persons skin is penetrated by an infectious source, like an insect bite)
What are the universal precautions?
Use disposable gloves and protective barriers, washing and cleaning all surfaces that are contaminated with bodily fluids or blood immediately, changing gloves between patients
What are the 10 standard infection control percautions?
Hand hygiene, respiratory and cough hygiene, personal protective equipment, safe managment of equipment, safe managment of environment, safe mangment of blood and body fluids, safe managment of linen, safe disposal of waste, occupational safety and exposure, and patient ssessment for infection rusk
What are the kinds of contact transmission?
Direct and indirect
What is direct contact transmission?
the direct contact between body surface to body surface physically, allowing microorganisms to tranfer to the susceptible individual
What is indirect contact transmission?
When a susceptible person touches an infected object (caused by poor hand hygiene)
How can contact transmission be prevented
By wearing gloves, changing gloves between patients, wearing gowns, washing hands
Define parenteral transmission
When a pathogen is transferred in way other than through the digestive system
What are examples of parenteral transmission?
Respiratory tract, the bloodstream, or genital or urinary tract,
How do you protect yourself from parenteral transmission?
Hand wash before going in and before leaving, put on a gown and gloves, and remove the glove and gown before leaving the room
Define droplet transmission
When a pathogen is transferred via the droplet of a sneeze or cough
What are examples of droplet transmission?
flu, pertussis, mumps, and respiratory illnesses
What is airborne transmission?
when the pathogen is being transferred in small respiratory droplets that become aerosolized.
What are examples of Airborne transmission?
measles and chickenpox
How can we protect ourselves from airborne transmission?
hand hygiene, use of protective equipment, and respiratory hygiene/ cough etiquette
What are the symptoms of infection?
Heat
Pain
swelling
redness
puss
feeling of general malaise
Gastrointestinal infections—>abdominal pain, tenderness, diarrhea, and vomiting
Urinary tract infection —> abdominal discomfort, and confusion
Define isolation
when the ill people are separated from the people that are not ill
Define quarantine
When people who have been exposed to the disease are isolated and their movement are restricted
Define cohorting
When people who are infected with the same disease are placed in the same room
