Tuberculosis is one of the most dangerous infectious diseases. His cunning is that he is extremely contagious and is transmitted through household items, things and by airborne droplets. In order to completely protect yourself and those around the sick people, you need to pay enough attention to disinfection for tuberculosis. All things that surround the patient are subject to it, especially those that are intended for general use. How to disinfect a patient with tuberculosis? What tools to use?
Methods and types
Disinfection for tuberculosis is very important in order to minimize the risks of infection of people who invariably surround a sick person. It is mandatory carried out both in the home of the infected and in the hospital, where a person can be treated. Allocate current and final disinfection for tuberculosis.
Moreover, in each individual case, the set of necessary measures in the focus of tuberculosis infection is determined individually. It may include the following actions:
- ongoing disinfection;
- final disinfection;
- isolation of an infected person from healthy ones (which is necessary with an open form of the disease);
- vaccination of young children;
- conservative and surgical treatment of a patient with tuberculosis.
Preventive treatment of the home and household items is also selected taking into account the living conditions of the person and the degree of the disease.
The need for disinfection
Koch's wand, which is a bacterium that causes tuberculosis, is incredibly tenacious; it can survive even under such conditions:
- When exposed to conventional antibiotics.
- With increased humidity or dry environment.
- At high temperatures, up to 95-100 degrees.
Bacteria are able to adapt to the environment and can remember and transmit the genetic memory of previous medications to which the patient was treated. It is important to carry out disinfection for the reason that the pathogenic bacteria multiplies in the air, on household items or ordinary dust. The abundance of Koch's wand in the home, personal items and common items can lead to reinfection of a person, as well as infection of people around him.
Ongoing disinfection
This type of disinfection is performed daily in order to stop the spread of pathogenic bacteria. It is important to create comfortable conditions for the living of a sick person, but to prevent infection of people who are nearby. The current disinfection for tuberculosis necessarily includes such measures:
- disinfection of bedding and underwear of an infected person;
- disinfection of dishes, personal hygiene items and general household items;
- disinfection of rooms where the sick person goes;
- thorough treatment of the bathroom and the bathroom.
The treatment of the room is carried out by the patient himself, his relatives or an invited health care provider. Regular disinfection of medical devices for tuberculosis is also required. It can be thermal or chemical, often these two measures are combined to obtain a better effect.
Disinfection Methods
There are four main methods of disinfection, which are used to treat rooms and household items of a sick person.
- Mechanical - wet cleaning with rags, sponges. It aims to reduce the amount of dust, which can also be a carrier of a dangerous bacterium.
- Thermal - processing using high temperatures.
- Physical - processing using ultraviolet radiation. This is the only method available today that provides complete disinfection of a room, as well as all objects that are in it, and even a directly ill person.
- Chemical includes the processing of household items and indoor surfaces using aggressive chemicals.
It is impossible to dwell on only one of the possible methods and means of disinfection for tuberculosis; to achieve the desired effect, it is important to combine all available measures.
Disinfectants
One of the most important events is the daily wet cleaning of all rooms, as well as the processing of dishes in a special sterilizer. In this case, it is advisable to use disposable gloves and a medical mask in order not to accidentally inhale dust with the causative agent of the disease.
In some cases, only daily wet cleaning with the addition of chlorine in water is sufficient, in others it is necessary to use different disinfectants, such as:
- lithium hypochlorite;
- dibasic salt of calcium hypochlorite;
- sodium salt;
- Deochlor;
- Aquasept;
- "Prescription."
These drugs cause minimal harm to the body of people who live on the same area with the infected, but they perfectly kill pathogenic bacteria. Also, when disinfecting rooms with tuberculosis, it is important not to forget about daily ventilation.
It is very important to allocate individual dishes to the sick person, which will be subjected to boiling and processing each time after use. It is also strictly forbidden to eat food for a sick person or give it to pets - it must be disposed of as household waste. It is also necessary to endow a sick person with a spittoon, which will be used to collect sputum. This is necessary to minimize the spread of pathogenic bacteria through the saliva of the infected. Reusable devices must also be thoroughly disinfected.
Final disinfection
Sanitary treatment is necessary not only during illness, but also after a person has recovered. Final disinfection for tuberculosis completely eliminates the possibility of reinfection with bacteria that remain on the surface of household items, furniture.
Treatment after recovery consists of the following measures:
- Disinfection of the room with bleach.
- Disinfection of all surfaces that the patient touched, especially if the disease proceeded in an open form.
- Preventive treatment is recommended to be carried out once every six months for two years after the patient's recovery. This is due to the fact that bacteria are able to survive in extreme conditions and can be activated at any time.
Be sure to undergo regular preventive treatment such organizations:
- in hospitals, sanatoriums and other recreational facilities, disinfection should be carried out after each patient;
- in children's educational institutions, disinfection is carried out annually;
- public places - cinemas, shopping centers, shops;
- catering organizations;
- waterworks.
With the help of household means, it is possible to disinfect with tuberculosis the surfaces of wooden and plastic furniture, household items and clothing, but mattresses, blankets and upholstered furniture are best treated by dry cleaning.
General rules
There is a set of recommendations that it is important to adhere to when disinfecting rooms and household items.
- It is important to ventilate the rooms in which the sick person is daily.
- It is necessary to destroy all insects that can be found in a residential building, as they can become carriers of infection. The same rule applies to mice and rats.
- It is necessary to limit the communication of a TB-infected person with domestic animals, since it is impossible to treat them properly, and they can become carriers or become ill themselves.
- Wet cleaning with disinfectants is required daily.
- The garbage after the patient is to be burned, since insects or rodents that they are interested in can cause an epidemic.
- During the washing of bedding and underwear, it is necessary to carry out processing by boiling for 15-20 minutes.
- After use, the dishes must be soaked in a container with an antiseptic.
- It is important to disinfect even those things that will be transferred to the patient, since they can become a source of secondary infection.
Final disinfection for tuberculosis combines the same rules as the current one, but the treatment should be carried out even more carefully:
- all insignificant and interchangeable things of a sick person are burned;
- items that are not to be burned must be thoroughly boiled or treated with chemical agents;
- walls and floors in the room must be treated with alcohol-based antiseptics.
With careful implementation of all recommendations, the risks of infection in healthy people are minimized.
Remedies
During the cleaning process, the risk of infection is high, since you have to come into contact with infected objects. In order to exclude this possibility, it is necessary to use such personal protective equipment as a bathrobe, medical mask and gloves. Everything except the dressing gown should be disposed of after each use, and outerwear boils after use.
Independently or professionally?
Relatives of a sick person are faced with the question of how to carry out disinfection - on their own or with the involvement of specialized services. There is no definite answer, but the help of professionals may be needed during the final processing, as they can reach even the most inaccessible places in the home.
Conclusion
It is categorically not recommended to ignore the high-quality disinfection for tuberculosis of the home and household items of a sick person, since neglect of simple disinfection rules can lead to infection of healthy family members and re-infection of the patient after recovery.