Preventing Infection

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HealthWiki > Where Women Have No Doctor > Health Care Skills > Preventing Infection

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In this chapter:

 

In this chapter:

Infections cause many kinds of sickness. People who are already sick or hurt are often more at risk for getting an infection, and getting one can make them much sicker. So do everything you can to keep infections from developing and protect yourself from getting an infection from someone you care for.

Infections are caused by germs, such as bacteria and viruses, that are too small to see. Every person carries bacteria on her skin, and in her mouth, intestines, and genitals all the time. These germs do not usually cause problems, but they can cause infections if passed to sick people. Germs also live on the equipment and tools used when caring for a sick person and can easily be passed to others you help.

You can prevent infection by following the guidelines in this chapter. For other ways to prevent infection, see the chapter on "Staying Healthy".

IMPORTANT! Follow these guidelines every time you help someone, whether you use your hands, tools, or special equipment. If you do not, you may get a dangerous infection, or pass an infection to the people you are helping

Washing your hands

Let your hands dry in the air instead of using a towel. Do not touch anything until your hands are dry.

Wash your hands with soap and water before and after caring for another person. It the most important way to kill germs. You need to wash your hands even more thoroughly and for a longer time:

Use water that flows.

• before and after helping someone give birth.
• before and after touching a wound or broken skin.
• before and after giving an injection, or cutting or piercing a body part.
• after touching blood, urine, stool, mucus, or fluid from the genitals.
• after removing gloves.

Use soap to remove dirt and germs. Count to 30 as you scrub your hands all over with the soapy lather. Use a brush or soft stick to clean under your nails. Then rinse. Use water that flows. Do not reuse water if your hands must be very clean.

If you do not have a piped water supply, you can make a Tippy Tap. It will save water and makes it easy to keep a supply of clean water for washing hands.
Use a large, clean plastic bottle with a handle.	1. Pinch the handle together here with a pair of hot pliers or a hot knife. 2. Make a small hole in the handle, just above where you sealed it. 3. To hang the Tippy Tap, make 2 more holes in the other side of the bottle and pass a string through them. Now you can hang it on a peg or tree branch.
4. Fill the bottle with clean water and replace the lid.	5. When you tip the bottle forward, the water will flow out, so you can wash your hands. Do not make the hole too large or it will waste water.		You can also hang a bar of soap from the string.

Cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing tools

All the tools used to care for sick people must be cleaned and then disinfected or sterilized. This gets rid of germs and protects against infection.

Disinfecting kills most of the germs that cause infections. Sterilizing kills all the germs that cause infections. Which you do depends on the tool and how it is used.

Note: You do not need to disinfect or sterilize tools that are used only on the outside of the body on unbroken skin. Stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs must be clean but do not need to be sterile.

Do steps 1 and 2 right after using your tools. Try not to let blood or mucus dry on them. Do step 3 right before you use the tools again. All the steps can be done together if you can store your tools so they will stay disinfected or sterilized (see box below).

1. Take apart your tools: Tools that have been used should be taken apart so all their surfaces can be cleaned and then disinfected or sterilized.
2. Clean your tools: Wash all tools with clean water, soap or detergent, and a brush to remove any blood, mucus, or dirt. Remove any rust and get rid of tools that are dull or damaged. Be careful with sharp edges or points. If possible, use gloves to protect your hands from cuts and from the detergent.
3. Remove germs from your tools: Remove germs from your tools by disinfecting or sterilizing (see below). Disinfect tools that touch mucous membranes (like wet areas inside the mouth or inside the vagina) or broken skin, and tools that can be damaged by high heat. This includes bulb syringes and speculums. Sterilize tools that are used to cut into the body, or that come in contact with blood or wounds. This includes syringes and needles, blades for cutting the cord after birth, and gauze for covering wounds.

Disinfecting by boiling or steaming

Use boiling to disinfect metal tools, rubber or plastic equipment, and cloth. Use steaming to disinfect metal tools, gloves, plastic equipment, and other tools. Steaming uses less water than boiling, and tools that are steamed do not get dull or break as quickly as those that are boiled.

Take your tools apart and clean them. To boil them, place them in a pot and cover with water. To steam them, put water in the bottom part of the steamer pot, place tools in the basket, and cover the pot with the lid. The water does not need to cover the tools when steaming.

Steam or boil the tools for 20 minutes. For both steaming and boiling, start to count the 20 minutes when the water is fully boiling. Do not add anything new to the pot once you begin to count.

Let the tools cool and dry. Use disinfected tongs, chopsticks, or spoons to remove the tools from the pot. Move them directly to a disinfected container with a lid.

Sterilizing by baking

Use baking (dry heat) to sterilize metal tools and string for tying the cord at birth. Do not bake gloves or tools made of rubber or plastic—they will melt!

Take your tools apart and clean them. Then wrap them in 4 layers of clean cloth or heavy paper and tie the packet shut. Put into a container or pan and bake at 170°C (305°F) or higher for 2½ hours. Then let the packet cool and store it in a clean, dry place. Do not open the packet or remove the tools until you are ready to use them, and then touch them only when wearing sterile gloves.

Sterilizing by pressure steaming

If you have a pressure-cooking pot, you can use this to sterilize your tools by pressure steaming. Use pressure steaming to sterilize metal or rubber tools and some plastic equipment.

Take your tools apart and clean them. Then wrap in 2 layers of non-woven paper or crepe paper and close with autoclave tape. Or put tools in a heat-safe container with a lid. Put a steamer basket and water in the pot. Put your packets in the steamer basket and be sure they are above the water. Close the lid of the pot, make sure the gasket seals, and put the pot on to boil. Once boiling, cook at 15 to 20 pounds of pressure at 121°C (250°F) for 20 minutes. Then let the packets cool and dry, and store in a clean, dry place. Do not remove the tools until you are ready to use them, and then touch them only when wearing sterile gloves.

Tools that need special care

Thermometers. Wash thermometers in soap and rinse with cool, clean water before and after you use them. Do not wash glass thermometers with hot water because they may break.

After washing, soak the thermometer in alcohol for 20 minutes. You can use ethyl alcohol (ethanol) or isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol, rubbing alcohol). Rinse the thermometer in clean water before using it again.

If you do not have gloves, you can use clean plastic bags to cover your hands.

Gloves. Gloves protect both you and the people you help against the spread of infection. If you do not have gloves, use clean plastic bags to cover your hands.

As with other tools, whether gloves need to be clean, disinfected, or sterilized depends on how they will be used. Clean gloves that are not disinfected or sterilized are OK when used only on the outside of the body on unbroken skin. When touching broken skin or the inside of the vagina, use disinfected gloves. During surgery, or when touching wounds, use sterile gloves. The sterilization methods using heat will not work for gloves—they will melt. Buy already sterilized gloves if you can.

If you use gloves more than one time, be sure to clean, disinfect, and store them following the instructions above. Always check cleaned gloves for holes and throw away any that are torn.

Cloth dressings. If you do not have sterile gauze, use cloth dressings. Follow the instructions to sterilize and store them.

This page was updated:13 Nov 2023