first line of defense
intact skin
second line of defense
inflammatory process
third line of defense
immunity
hand-washing techniques
wash hands for 20 seconds or sing HB 2 times
medical asepsis
cleanliness; not eliminating all germs
sterilization
complete elimination of germs and their components
pathogen
microorganism that has the ability to get someone sick and cause death
4 major characteristics of an infected agent
specificity
virulence
pathogenicity
invasiveness
specificity
attraction and susceptibility of host
virulence
ability to grow or multiply
pathogenicity
how dangerous
invasiveness
ability to infect
nosocomial infection
infection from hospital or clinic during medical care
community acquired infection
infected individual who enters the health care facility
theatre, playground, classroom, etc.
antibiotic regimen
antibiotics are good for you but you don’t want to be antibiotic dependent
finish prescriptions to eliminate germs
becoming antibiotic dependent means an increase in superbugs that the antibiotics won’t be able to kill
factors that increase the risk of infection
age
elderly as their immunity breaks down
children as they are trying to build immunity
stress
diet
exercise
rest
sleep
genetics
most common site of a nosocomial infection
bloodstream
urinary tract
best way to fight nosocomial infection
wash and moisturize hands
increasing chances of nosocomial infection
catheters
break in your skin
wounds
what is the #1 means of protecting yourself from external environments
skin
bad microorganisms
pathogens
good microorganisms
food, wine, probiotics, yogurt, cheese, etc.
bacteria
single cell prokaryotes that have a high rate of population growth; cell division occurs every 20 minutes
can be viable for many years then germinate in response to specific environmental conditions
endospores
spores highly resistant to chemical/physical agents and the external environment
fungus
macroscopic: mushrooms and puffballs
microscopic: yeast and molds
eukaryotic: having a nucleus and organelles
dimorphic: exists in 2 forms
single-celled like yeast
filamentous hyphae like mold
structure is like a small plant and has tiny branches that can expand to the air
parasite
organism that can live on or in other organisms (plant or animal)
protozoa
larger in size compared to bacteria
able to ingest food particles
has a simple digestive system
viruses
have their own DNA/RNA (never both) are are able to multiple and spread quickly
cysts
wall resistant to chemical and physical changes, permitting them to survive outside of the host organism (protective coating of protozoa)
environment infectious agents can thrive
warm, moist, dark, and plenty of nutrients
breaking the infectious cycle
eliminate transmission
how do pathogens enter the body
eyes, nose, ear, broken skin, rectum
direct contact of transmission
person to person
sex, hand holding, kidding, contaminated needle
indirect contact of transmission
person to object
inanimate objectm buffets, buttons, etc.
hepatitis
blood born type of disease
more prevalent than HIV
causes liver to be inflamed
most are treatable
worst case scenario is that it may cause liver cancer or cirrhosis
airborne
when droplets have dried up, evaporated, and contaminated are whisked into the air that you could breathe in
droplet contamination
coughing, sneezing, speaking, usually wet
where are antibodies found
saliva, tears, spinal fluid, colostrum (mothers milk)
4 stages of infectious process
incubation
prodromal
full disease
condolescent
incubation
pathogen dormant, no specific symptoms
prodromal
some symptoms, highly infectious (acquire)
full disease
full symptoms, highly contagious (spread/communicated)
condolescent
symptoms start to disappear, some diseases go dormant
tier 1
minimum requirement for standard precautions and PPE; PPE depends on type of infection
reverse isolation
for patients whose immunity is severely compromised
tier 2
transmission-based precautions; isolates infected individuals from other patients
airborne isolation
SARS, small pox, TB,
private room with negative pressure
droplet isolation
influenza, mumps, pneumonia
private room/shared with individual with the same infection
contact isolation
direct: wounds, HVW, herpes
indirect: fomites
private/shared room with individual having the same infection
universal/standard precaution
treat everyone as if they have an infection