Personal Hygiene

Experts call for end of flushing toilets on World Toilet Day

hareyan — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:33:09 -0600

As the world celebrates World Toilet Day today, sanitation experts have called for the end of the flushing dunny to save water and provide fertilizer for crops. Leading health advocates have called for the use of "dry" toilets which separate urine from faeces and remove the need to flush.

Speaking at the recent World Toilet Summit in Macau, World Toilet Organisation founder Jack Sims said the concept of the flushing toilet was unsustainable.

Hospital Superbugs On The Rise In Canada

hareyan — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:15:54 -0600

Although infection control has been substantially ramped up in Canadian hospitals since the SARS crisis of 2003, resistant bacterial infections post-SARS are multiplying even faster, a new Queen's University study shows.

Led by Queen's epidemiologist Dr. Dick Zoutman, the national survey is a six-year follow-up to a study that was undertaken in 1999, prior to the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

HPA Welcomes Global Handwashing Initiative

ruzik_tuzik — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:13:33 -0500

The Health Protection Agency has welcomed this year's Global Handwashing Day initiative which aims to raise awareness about the role handwashing plays in public health.

Professor Mike Catchpole, Director of the Health Protection Agency's Centre for Infections, said:

"It is well known that hand washing is one of the most important ways of controlling the spread of infections, especially those that cause diarrhoea and vomiting, colds and flu.

Manhattan Dialysis Clinic Closed Due To Inappropriate Hygiene

hareyan — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:36:26 -0500

The Life Care Dialysis Center, at 221 West 61st Street, Manhattan is closed because of unsanitary conditions causing health risk to patients.

State Health Department began inspecting the center in mid August and found out that the hospital does not properly follow hygiene requirements while serving patients. Inspectors found that employees did not regularly wash their hands, failed to disinfect equipment or change gloves for each patients individually.

Time To Check For Head Lice

ruzik_tuzik — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:26:48 -0500

Now that school’s begun, parents should check their young children for head lice on at least a weekly basis, according to Dr. Annette Bredthauer, the state’s public health veterinarian with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

"Head lice are common among elementary school students because they have a lot of physical contact with their classmates," Dr. Bredthauer said.

Lice are reddish-brown wingless insects; lice eggs, or nits, are grayish-white, always oval shaped and are attached at an angle to the side of the hair shaft.

Hospital Infections - Take Charge

hareyan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:14:51 -0500

Hospital acquired infections are a serious problem that the quality improvement movement is shining a light on. Each year 2 million Americans acquire an infection while hospitalized. We used to accept these rates as just unfortunate events.

From methacillin resistant staph (MRSA) to Clostridium difficile (C. diff), we now know that these infections can be prevented through rigorous precautions and awareness. Here are 12 steps you can take to reduce your risk of hospital infections.

1. Ask hospital staff and visitors (very important!) to wash their hands before treating you.

Wash your Hands and Avoid getting and spreading Diseases

hareyan — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:28:03 -0500

Your hands pick up all kinds of germs and many diseases such as Ringworms,spreading through our hands. So keeping your hands clean will help in reducing your risk of getting and spreading many types of contagious diseases such as Common Cold. Germs spread through hand contacts directly or indirectly in many ways. If you visit a Super Market and shop using a push cart germs spread from the handlebar of the push cart also. Even handling Currency Notes, plays a role in spreading germs from one person to another.

Wash your hands:-

* After using Toilet.

Billions Live With Poor Sanitation Facilities

ruzik_tuzik — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:13:39 -0500

Every day, over 2.5 billion people suffer from a lack of access to improved sanitation and nearly 1.2 billion practise open defecation, the riskiest sanitary practice of all, according to a report issued today by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. The programme is the official UN mechanism tasked with monitoring progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Target 7c on drinking water supply and sanitation.

Clean Hands, Hygiene Vital In Tackling Infection

ruzik_tuzik — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:31:05 -0500

Clean hands are the most effective tool in the fight against healthcare-associated infections.

That was the key message from Health Minister Michael McGimpsey as he launched the regional ‘cleanyourhands’ campaign to highlight the importance of hand hygiene amongst healthcare staff and visitors.

In Middle School, Hand Hygiene Gets Good 'Rap'

hareyan — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:57:12 -0500

While some rap lyrics may be down and dirty, students at Sampson G. Smith Intermediate School kept them clean - as a way to teach their classmates about the benefits of good hand hygiene.