Why can't we get rid of superbugs in our hospitals?

Question

Everyday I read about MRSA and C.diff being contracted in hospitals, you come out worse than you went in if you come out at all.
My dad had heart surgery two years ago and contracted c.diff. He lost 35 pounds in 35 days and it nearly killed him.
He back in hospital now following cancer removal and heart attack - has been there 12 weeks - already developed pneumonia and we are worried sick he is going to get c.diff again.....

Answer 1

The best defence against these bugs from your point of view is to ensure good hand hygiene above all else. Make sure any visitors and all hospital staff are washing their hands with soap and water before entering and leaving the ward, they can also apply the alcohol gel supplied but use this AFTER the hand washing as the gel is not effective against the C-diff spores.

However, it is also worth remembering that these bugs are out in the community, large portions of society carry thise bugs harmlessly in their gut or in their nose/throat or on their skin. If you or a family member are scheduled to have an operation/treatments in the future it might be worth getting checked for MRSA, it only requires a simple swab and the treatment if result is positive is a pretty simle one.

The other thing we can all do is if we are prescribed antibiotics is to complete the course. We should also consider how many visitors at once should be visiting the sick person, limiting exposure in the earliest phase of illness/post op phase, should be considered. Another small plea is for people other than the patient to refrain from sitting on hospital beds, MRSA is often found on the skin and most of us shed millions of skin cells daily.

It is unlikely we will completely eradicate hospital acquired infections, they are afterall a place where lots of quite sick people are confined, we do need to vigilant in terms of maintaining high standards of good, effective handwashing and cleaning and not be afraid to ask (politely) that all the staff set the right example.

Hope your dad makes a good recovery.
Kuta

Answer 2

So, hospitals just generate these diseases by themselves? Yeah, right. What happens is irresponsible people come in with MRSA and c.diff, don't tell anyone they have it, and it gets spread throughout. It's extremely tough to get rid of DRUG RESISTANT bacteria. Why don't you throw on a lab coat and find something that can kill a drug resistant bacteria?

Answer 3

How about the hospitals themselves?

I was in the new North Las Vegas Hospital a few months after it was built. I had a serious infection. I was put on anti-coagulants and anti-biotics.
I woke during the nigh in what I though was a heavy sweat, I turned on the light and saw my bed, entirely soaked in blood. the I.V. came out and I was bleeding profusily.
The sheets were bloody from my knees to my head and, all around. I called for the nurse many times, she never came, I yelled as loud as I could, she never came.
I called my wife on my cell, we lived a few blocks away, she came running with my daughter who was a nurse and visiting from another state.

They found me soaked in blood and my hair was even soaked in my own blood. My dauhter came with a cleaning woman, who then run to find someone. My dughter stopped the bleeding.
A resident doctor came, they found the one and only nurse taking a lunch break. They only had one nurse for fourteen patients on duty at night.

Besides this, the floors were clawling with roaches, the bathrooms were full of them, my daughter and wife couldn't believe the roaches in that hospital. My daughter went to wash her hands and the new bathroom sink almost fell off the wall. It was so loose it wriggled.

My wife and daughter took me home, the doctor called and told them where to bring me, the hospital. We filed charges but, never heard anything about it, it was Federally funded for a poor area. We were never billed.