Is it a health hazard to to clean human waste with only plastice gloves or be in an poor hygienic environment?

Question

Hello. I am a college student and I live in an intergenerational program, that is, I, and other college students, live with senior citizens. The director of the program seems to think that the hygienic issues around the house are not harmful to our health. One senior walks around with his waste on his pants, sitting from chair to chair in the dining room where we eat! Another one, never showers and walks in the kitchen with a foul odor and passes gas literally every step. And lastly, we the students are supposed to clean up after them, even though this is an independent living environment and some seniors should really be at nursing homes instead of here.

Is it hazardous to our health to clean fecal matter, human waste or be in an environment, especially where we eat, exposed to such terrible hygiene?

We all are having a meeting this coming Monday and I want to bring up this issue, because it is important to me.

Thank you for your time.

Answer 1

The person who farts may be unpleasant, but is not hazardous to your health.

Having fecal matter left all around the house is an entirely different matter. It is hazardous to your health, the senior's health, and anyone who visits.

The clean-up matter should be clearly stated in the program rules. Are you living together and your role is as a helper for reduced rent? If so, then learn to do the clean-up and stop complaining. Rubber gloves and quality disinfectant is what you need.

The person who appears unable to care for them self needs to leave the program or be given more help than they are receiving. Walking around in soiled clothing is not acceptable.

The person who does not wash perhaps needs some reminders or help. This person's problems should able to be problem solved.

I would considered trying to get someone else at your meeting - a person from Area Agency on Aging or another social service agency for seniors. What you describe is senior neglect.

Answer 2

While you would think so, the reality is in other countries this is a normal part of life.

In Japan it is favorable to live with your elderly. Students are expected to do ALL THE CLEANING in their schools and dorms. Nurseing Students and certain other students may have to put up with this daily in any country.

I think the point and what you are learning is to not make a mess of things. In a normal dorm some times students get carried away,.. some poor person has to clean up broken glass, needles, vomit, and human excrements constantly while everyone else adds to this mess. The enviornment is hard/difficult to keep up with for these people but the others in the dorm do not care.

I do not know what you are going to school for, but I would not complain as much. You can look into haveing people come in and check on things. Incontonence is a problem that actually can strike any age but noone wants to talk about. It can some times be connected to other health issues. Someone needs to monitor this for health reasons in the indivuals. Additionally, if it is being caused by mental deterioration,.. everyone's lives can be threatened by the future fires.

That sounds like a very interesting program to keep students out of trouble.

No, it's not really a Health Hazard until you have the people that paint with feces. You probably want to start daily activities though where everyone soaks and steamed cleans their hands (steamed hand towels). This is popular for Beauty Students and for Senior Homes/Communities.

Answer 3

The person with the soiled clothing may need to be observed during toileting, and assisted. If this is beyond the scope of this environment, they should be reevaluated and moved to somewhere they can get more direct care. The person who never showers may need to be reminded, or coaxed with rewards. Most people do not want to go around being smelly, and would be embarassed if they realized it. If you cannot get somebody to go to the sink and wash their hands, disinfectant wipes make a decent substitute. Keep them available and hand them out after meals, toileting, etc. There is a midpoint between your program and a nursing home which is called assisted living, and this may be just what some of them need.

As far as cleaning - furniture, tables, doorknobs, handrails, etc. should all be disinfected regularly, even in an independent living environment. A pair of latex gloves is sufficient protection for this type of task. Change them and wash your hands before moving to a new area or going from dirty items to clean.

Answer 4

I'm guessing that the idea behind this program is for you to help these people so they don't have these kind of problems. I've never heard of this kind of program, but I think the best thing to do is talk to the people who have organized the program and ask them for a set of clear expectations for what you are going to do. If you don't know how to do what you're expected to do, then you can ask them for training. And, of course, there's always the possibility of finding another place to live.

Answer 5

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