March 29, 2022 admin
Cleaning And Disinfection In Home Care
Safety Of Patients At Home:
The overall need for home care has increased over the last few decades, owing largely to the world’s rapidly ageing population. Furthermore, more complex medical conditions are being managed at home. Homecare workers are responsible for a wide range of tasks such as health monitoring, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, wound dressing, assistance with bathing and other personal activities, as well as cleaning and disinfection.
Among the most important of these activities are cleaning and disinfection. Cleaning may involve the removal of dust, dirt, and stains, but it is also increasingly used to prevent infection. A lack of disinfection during home care can endanger many lives. Patients, family members, visitors, and health workers are all included. The increased prevalence of drug-resistant pathogens, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), both in hospitals and in the community, increases the need for disinfection. Clostridium difficile is the leading cause of enteric infections in the elderly. Many patients receiving homecare are frequently exposed in facility-based health care settings and can be carriers. Infections carried by visitors, family members, and health workers, on the other hand, can be a serious concern for patients with compromised immune systems. Wounds and burns pose an additional challenge because they can easily become infected. Patients and staff at home can be protected while ensuring that pathogens do not spread outside with them. We will go over the steps required for proper surface cleaning and sanitization.(1,2)
Understanding the disinfection procedures for instruments, hard and soft surfaces, floors, and so on, is a critical step in properly disinfecting a home that serves as a patient care facility.
Disinfection Protocol by CDC:
Cleaning is the first step in any disinfecting process. Cleaning is required because disinfectants perform poorly in the presence of excessive organic debris. Disinfectants can’t kill what they can’t reach, just like rain on an umbrella. Pathogens can easily hide under the cover of organic matter. Cleaning accounts for up to 90% of your success in battling diseases. Cleaning entails physically removing everything from dirt, debris, blood, bodily fluids, stains, and reducing the number of microbes present on surfaces. Large volume spills or debris may occur from time to time. The CDC recommends that blood or bodily substances be removed as soon as possible. Remove visible organic matter with absorbent materials first, then clean and decontaminate the area as previously described. According to the CDC, the physical removal of microorganisms and soil by wiping or scrubbing is probably as important, if not more important, than any anti-microbial effect of the cleaning agent used. What exactly does this mean? Before sanitising any surface, it is critical to thoroughly clean it. As a first step, ensure that all residues, soil, debris, and organic matter are properly removed from all surfaces. This is the key to your success.
Cleaning is followed by sanitization and disinfection. Sanitizing means reducing the number of germs, which cleaners alone cannot achieve. Disinfectants must meet more stringent requirements than cleaners and have a broader spectrum of antimicrobial activity.
Simple Tips For Home Disinfection:
• On a daily basis, clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects such as desks, doorknobs, electric switches, taps, and phones.
• Clean any obviously filthy surfaces or objects right away. If surfaces or objects have been soiled with bodily fluids or blood, wear gloves and take extra precautions to avoid contact with the fluid.
• Double-check that you understand all of the instructions on the labels and that you know how to use them safely and correctly.
• Follow the directions on the labels.
• Using cleaning chemicals and disinfectants frequently necessitates the use of gloves or eye protection. When working with bleach solutions, for example, always wear gloves to protect your hands.
• ensure that disinfectants have adequate contact time.(1,2)
Ideal Solution Selection:
Heat-sensitive, semi-critical medical devices are disinfected with high-level disinfectants. Non-critical instruments and environmental surfaces can be cleaned with intermediate-level solutions.
Use a fresh pre-saturated wipe or disinfecting liquid to disinfect surfaces for the recommended contact time listed on the label, and remember to reapply as needed to keep it on the surface for the recommended contact time.
Imaec Medntek offers a line of surface and floor sanitization products that are designed to clean and disinfect while also balancing efficacy, safety, and surface compatibility. We have MEDNTEK R82 is ideal for hard surfaces and MEDNTEK W10 which is a non-toxic easy-to-use, general-purpose disinfectant. While MEDNTEK ID 50 is compatible with different materials ideal for the disinfection of critical and semi-critical instruments. All these disinfectants have a broad spectrum of anti-microbial activity. They provide quick and long-lasting action, making them ideal for Homecare disinfection. This means that they ensure user safety and that surfaces are free of residue and corrosion. Another important feature is the ease of use. To learn more about our products, please visit our website.(3)
Adhering to cleaning and disinfection guidelines and protocols at home leads to disease control. These protocols help to prevent outbreaks and save lives.
References:
1. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/disinfecting-your-home.html
2. Nancy Goodyear et al, Cleaning and disinfection in home care: A comparison of 2 commercial products with potentially different consequences for respiratory health, American Journal of Infection Control, Volume 46, Issue 4, 2018, 410-416, doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2017.09.033