Staying Healthy in the Hospital

Each year, 99,000 Americans die from infections acquired in hospitals. Here are eight easy steps you can take to make sure your hospital stay is as safe as possible: > Ask your health care providers to wash their hands before touching you. > Make sure providers put on new gloves. And make sure they wash their hands before donning them. > Ask for verification that medical equipment is sterile and that syringes haven't been previously used. > Ask to be checked'and treated, if needed'for MRSA before any major medical procedure. > If you're having surgery and the site needs to be shaved, ask that clippers be used. Razor cuts are susceptible to infection. > Stay warm before surgery. A warm body better resists infections. > Ask your doctor if there are any skin disinfectants you should use at home, particularly in the days before a surgery. > Catheters are a major source of infection; make sure you absolutely need it before allowing catheterization. If you do, make sure your providers remove it the moment it's no longer needed.