Image by Ирина Ирина from Pixabay
Ewww! Icky. New research showed that doctors aren’t sterilizing their stethoscopes between patients and may be infecting people with diseases.
Apparently, all it takes is an alcohol swab or gel or a disinfectant wipe to sterilize it, but that’s not happening in most cases.
Hand hygiene has become an ingrained habit for most medical staff, but doctors need to up their game to keep viruses including staph, pneumonia, C. diff (you know, that nasty gut infection) as well as other forms of intestinal viruses from spreading.
Considering the amount of fecal bacteria that was found on cell phones during a recent “on the street” informal study, I’m not surprised that doctors’ stethoscopes are contaminated.
I hope the next time you see your doctor, you ask if the stethoscope has been cleaned before coming into the treatment room. We can help them develop better habits.
Claudia
Join me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch.
At DrClaudia.net, click on the "Ask Me" button and send me a question.
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Apparently, all it takes is an alcohol swab or gel or a disinfectant wipe to sterilize it, but that’s not happening in most cases.
Hand hygiene has become an ingrained habit for most medical staff, but doctors need to up their game to keep viruses including staph, pneumonia, C. diff (you know, that nasty gut infection) as well as other forms of intestinal viruses from spreading.
Considering the amount of fecal bacteria that was found on cell phones during a recent “on the street” informal study, I’m not surprised that doctors’ stethoscopes are contaminated.
I hope the next time you see your doctor, you ask if the stethoscope has been cleaned before coming into the treatment room. We can help them develop better habits.
Claudia
Join me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch.
At DrClaudia.net, click on the "Ask Me" button and send me a question.
Sign up for the Sunday newsletter. Don't miss a thing!
