Controlling infection is one thing we patients can control… well, as much as possible anyway. It means washing your hands and your fistula or graft site with anti-bacterial soap and warm water. It means keeping your access covered when you are out and about (see also “Dialysis Armbands and Clothing“)
However, I came across this report and it really frightens me. The American Journal of Infection Control reports of how the wipes at some dialysis centers may contain infectious organisms the may spread infection more than they clean. They said…
…found that Wet Detergent or Disinfectant Wipes were inconsistent and, “In ‘every instance’ the wipes actually spread common and potentially deadly infections from one surface to another,”…
My advice is that you observe what cleaning methods your center uses and bring this report to their attention. I’m sure they want to control infections as much as we do. This report seems to focus the blame on disinfectant wipes:
In more detail, Lead Researcher Professor Jean-Yves Maillard disclosed that the Detergent/Disinfectant Wipes initially succeeded in their goal of removing superbugs. When used on multiple surfaces, however, the Detergent Cloth then transferred “significant amounts of bacteria” between surfaces.
Here’s a report from KidneyBuzz titled, “Disinfection Wipes At Dialysis & Hospitals Found To Harm CKD Patients Through Bacteria Infections” and it also contains some links to related issues of infection control. Well worth reading!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
About DevonTexas
I am a person with ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease) which means my kidneys don't work. Forty or so years ago that would have been a death sentence but today there is Dialysis which means I could be hooked up to a machine that would clean my blood as the kidneys should. Three days a week, I went to a dialysis center and had too very large needles stuck in my arm to remove and replace my blood as it passed through a process where it was cleaned and the fluid was removed, a process taking a little over four hours each time.
In November 2017, I received a kidney transplant from a deceased donor. My life went into overdrive. With a "new" functioning kidney, I no longer had to go to a dialysis center and my days were not open to be lived rather than recovering from dialysis which meant dialyzing for three days and resting for 4 days a week. I work full-time and often 50 hours per week. It is something I never imagined. I highly recommend it! HeeHee
I want to advance knowledge about dialysis and transplant so that others can learn from my experience and mistakes. We shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel, eh? There is so much to be learned and experienced about our predicament. There are vast resources available to support us and enrich our lives but many patients don't know about them. There are also many issues that we have to deal with whether we want to or not. So I blog about them in www.DevonTexas.com
All comments are confidential until I approve them. If you don't want your comment public, let me know and I will respect that. So, feel free to leave a comment.
I also blog in LegacyTales in WordPress if you are interested in the ramblings of a Old Man. Give a peek and let me know what you think. https://legacytales.wordpress.com/
Enjoy.
DevonTexas 