Your Health May Be Only Skin-Deep: The Fourth-Leading Cause Of Death In The U.S. Is Often A Result Of Bacteria On Patients' Own Skin

Main Category: MRSA / Drug Resistance
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  Dermatology
Article Date: 02 Nov 2007 - 3:00 PDT

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Did you know your own skin could be the source of a deadly infection that could kill you? Currently, 271 people a day - the equivalent of one airline crash - will die from healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. In many cases, these HAIs are a result of naturally-occurring bacteria on the skin that entered the bloodstream during a medical procedure and became a life-threatening infection.

To view the PSA and learn more about healthcare-associated infections, please click here.

HAIs will kill approximately 99,000 people this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That is more yearly deaths than AIDS, breast cancer, and auto accidents combined. In fact, one in 17 patients will be diagnosed with an HAI every day even though more than one-third of these infections are preventable.

Launched this week, Skin Is The Source is a health education campaign led by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) that provides information and prevention tips about HAIs. The initiative is raising awareness that naturally-occurring bacteria on the skin - while typically harmless - can become deadly. When the skin surface has not been properly cleaned to remove these bacteria, they can be pushed beneath the skin as a result of a surgery or skin puncture (IV, catheter, etc.) and enter the body leading to a potential HAI.

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities have developed extensive infection control policies to prevent HAIs. While hand washing is an important preventive measure, it is not enough on its own. Medical experts also recommend the following to help prevent an HAI:

-- Shower or bathe with antibacterial soap the night before and the morning of your surgery or procedure.

-- Make sure your skin is properly cleaned with an antiseptic solution and inquire whether:

1) The skin will be cleaned using a skin prep solution in an applicator that avoids skin contact between the patient and healthcare professional.
2) The skin prep solution is one that remains active in the presence of blood, serum, and other protein-rich biomaterials to resist recontamination of the skin and offer persistent antibacterial activity for at least 48 hours.

-- Observe hand washing and glove use of the healthcare professionals taking care of you. Don't be afraid to ask them to wash their hands again or to get a new set of gloves.

Visit http://www.skinisthesource.org to learn more about HAIs and their prevention.

Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology