Wellness

[151949]

A very large level 1 medical center here in Pittsburgh has been found to have Legioniers in the water system. On the news last night they said they are using bottled water to drink and not bathing patients. That is yucky enough - draining wounds and all - but I also wonder about nurses and hand washing. As a nurse you are REQUIRED to wash your hands before leaving a patients room and again before entering another patients room. Even if you go from one room to the next - 2 hand washes - as ridiculous as that sounds. (My friend's unit was sited for nurses only washing hands once when they are leaving one room and immediately going to another room) So, aren't those nurses contaminating their hands? Potentially contaminating themselves and others?Even using gloves  is not 100%. You can only use those alcohol based hand sanitizers so much as they will dry out and crack open the skin very quickly. It feels to me like this hospital needs to be shut down until they find the source of the problem and correct it - just my opinion.I wouldn't want to be a patient there.

[meem120]

Just had a recent hospital stay and every room had a hand sanitizer on the wall and in the bathroom and all along the hospital corridors, at elevators and entrance and exits to outside.  They were very well covered and everyone had acsess to gloves if needed.  

[meem120]

Just wanted to add too, that the hand sanitizer was like a mousse.  Not the usual sanitizer you find at the store.  Very gentle on hands and no alcohol smell at all.

[Zhills]

Lost in the 50s......80s!

[151949]

Those hand sanitizers are all alcohol based - so you can't use them every few min as nurses in a busy unit need to do as they are going in & out of rooms - without them breaking down the skin on your hands. Beside that experts say that washing - using soap water and friction are much more effective means of cleaning the hands.

[goldensrbest]

I saw on the news last night,they are checking to see if the hand sanitizers are okay to use,if it builds up in the body.

[blackhole99]

I don't see why they can't bring clean water into the hospital until things get back to normal.

[Snowpuppy]

Leigonaire's is NOT transmitted by human contact.

It is airborne and transmitted by inhaling droplets of water from an a/c system.  Most commercial HVAC systems have water from city water sources that flows thry piping, is chilled and piped out as chilled air.

They found Legionella at one of the hospitals in Flint, too. Infants & toddlers were sent home with the "flu".

Nobody wanted to tell these people the truth, either.

[Allegheny]

Excerpt from CDC web page:

Legionella is a type of bacterium found naturally in freshwater environments, like lakes and streams. It can become a health concern when it grows and spreads in human-made water systems like

Hot tubs that aren’t drained after each use
Hot water tanks and heaters
Large plumbing systems
Cooling towers (air-conditioning units for large buildings)
Decorative fountains

Home and car air-conditioning units do not use water to cool the air, so they are not a risk for Legionella growth.

This bacterium grows best in warm water.

Now I am curious and have to go and search how common it is to have Legionella grow in hot water tanks.  Dang, I know a lot of people who don't drain their hot tubs after each use.  Guess they must test the water and add chemicals alot.

[scotnovel]

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@Allegheny wrote:

Excerpt from CDC web page:

Legionella is a type of bacterium found naturally in freshwater environments, like lakes and streams. It can become a health concern when it grows and spreads in human-made water systems like

Hot tubs that aren’t drained after each use
Hot water tanks and heaters
Large plumbing systems
Cooling towers (air-conditioning units for large buildings)
Decorative fountains

Home and car air-conditioning units do not use water to cool the air, so they are not a risk for Legionella growth.

This bacterium grows best in warm water.

Now I am curious and have to go and search how common it is to have Legionella grow in hot water tanks.  Dang, I know a lot of people who don't drain their hot tubs after each use.  Guess they must test the water and add chemicals alot.

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I've never known anyone who drains their hot tub after every use.