« Older Entries

The Importance of Infection Cleaning Services

How to prevent spreading infections and how they are cleaned.

mediaimage
Intro

Anyone can catch and spread infection, even young healthy people. Unfortunately, they may spread it to someone who can’t effectively fight off the infection. Even healthy people could be susceptible to long lasting effects of viruses. Covid-19 has taught us a lot about the importance of maintaining clean and healthy spaces to help prevent spread. The Delta variant that is currently present in the community is even more contagious. Experts in cleaning and disinfecting are available to help in case of infection or outbreak. All it takes is one infection to interrupt and even harm a lot of lives. It’s important to stop the spread before it starts. An infection cleaning service will ensure the location is properly disinfected and safe for occupancy again. Building owners and homeowners should call their local experts if they have encountered a case of a dangerous infection like Covid-19.

How Infections are Managed and Cleaned

In the case of a known infection, experts will go in an assess the area. This will help them determine what type of equipment and how many technicians they need for the cleaning. They will remove and dispose of items that are infected and cannot be cleaned. Once that’s done, they proceed to cleaning the remaining items. The first step is to spray all of the large items with a disinfectant. Then they go in and clean by hand for a more in-depth clean. This also allows them to clean more delicate items like electronics or high-touch items like phones. Once that’s done, everything is wiped down and excess disinfectant is wiped up. Once everything is cleaned up, the infection cleaners will properly dispose of all the waste in biohazard material bags and ensure they are taken to a proper facility.

Preventing Infection

There are things people can do to prevent themselves from getting sick and spreading infections. Some of these practices have become very well-known during the pandemic but can also be used anytime. Some things people can do regularly, whether there is a known outbreak or not, are avoiding touching surfaces that infected people may have touched, covering their mouths and faces if they cough or sneeze, frequently washing their hands, and avoiding touching their faces throughout the day. Certain areas require wearing a mask and distancing from others during the pandemic. When there is no longer a pandemic, these are great practices to keep up with in order to stay healthy, especially during cold and flu season. In addition to these practices, if someone is sick, they should avoid contact with others and wear a mask if they have to be close to others.

Conclusion

Infection cleaning is an important part of keeping the community safe and healthy. It is crucial that while we are dealing with Covid-19 everyone does their part in helping prevent outbreaks. Anyone who suspects contamination, or an outbreak should call the experts to have the area properly cleaned. To try and prevent this from happening, individuals can help by taking precautions and informing others when they become sick, especially if they test positive for Covid-19.

Tags:

What You should Know about Urogynaecological Health

What is urogynaecology? We explore common urogynaecology problems women face and potential treatment options for each of these disorders.

mediaimage
Urogynaecology focuses on pelvic floor disorders.

Pelvic floor function, anatomy, and function are all affected by the pelvic floor in women. The pelvic floor supports organs such as uterus, bladder, rectum, and vagina.

Most women are at risk for developing pelvic floor problems at various stages of their lives when their pelvic floor is weakened and damaged by pregnancy, childbirth, ageing, and menopause. The health effects of pelvic floor disorders if left untreated can be quite significant.

It is important to note that many women can suffer from different types of pelvic floor disorders at different stages of their lives, or more than 1 type of pelvic floor disorders at any 1 time. A urogynecologist is a more qualified specialist who has specific expertise in diagnosis, investigation, and treatment of women’s pelvic floor disorders than a general gynecologist.

Common pelvic floor disorders include:

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP)
It refers to a drooping of the uterus, the bladder, or the rectum into and beyond the vaginal opening. The condition affects one in three women who have had children. It is more common in older women. One in 10 women will require surgery in their lifetimes.

It is primarily caused by weakened pelvic floor muscles caused by damage sustained during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as by aging and menopause. Chronic strain on pelvic floor muscles can also cause POP, as can obesity, coughing, constipation, and jobs that require heavy lifting or long hours. POP is characterized by feeling a lump in the vagina, or a heavy dragging sensation, bleeding after menopause, urinary issues, constipation, or painful sex.

POP can be treated non-surgically or surgically. You can perform Kegel exercises to strengthen weak pelvic floor muscles, make lifestyle changes, and use vaginal pessaries (which are soft, removable devices that are inserted into your vagina to support your prolapsed organs) as non-surgical alternatives. An urogynaecologist will perform surgery for pelvic organ prolapse based on the severity of the condition, your age, general health, medical conditions, surgical history and sexual activity.

Urinary incontinence
Under various circumstances, one leaks urine involuntarily. The urge to go to the toilet may arise when you are physically exerting yourself e.g. laughing, coughing, sneezing, running, jumping, or when you feel the urge but are unable to make it there in time. The problem can occur at any age, including in young women, during pregnancy and after childbirth, all the way up to women going through menopause.

Incontinence is caused by weakened pelvic floor muscles (damage sustained during pregnancy and childbirth, weakening from aging and menopause, obesity), weakened bladder muscles (from aging and nerve damage), and medications. Coffee, certain illnesses, and smoking make urinary incontinence worse.

Often, treating urinary incontinence involves conservative lifestyle changes such as managing weight, eating a healthy diet, adjusting fluid intake, cutting back on caffeine, doing bladder exercises, taking scheduled bathroom breaks, avoiding constipation, and Kegel exercises. Your urogynecologist may recommend surgery in certain cases.

Overactive bladder (OAB)
It happens when you feel the urge to urinate and need to visit the toilet frequently. This occurs at night while you are sleeping, and is known as nocturia. You may find that your life revolves around the toilet as this can be disruptive to your work and social life.

OAB is caused by the bladder muscles trying to empty urine that isn’t there. An infection of the urinary tract (UTI) can often cause this. Alternatively, it may result from nerve damage caused by old age, diabetes, stroke, dementia, etc. Medications and caffeine may also contribute.

Changing one’s lifestyle is the first-line treatment for OAB, like treating urinary incontinence. It is usually necessary to prescribe medications for OAB in addition to the lifestyle changes mentioned above. By relaxing your bladder muscles, you can increase the time between passing urine. Additionally, Botox injections into the bladder (which are done under general or local anesthesia) and nerve stimulation are 2nd line invasive options. They are only given to women who have not improved after trying all other measures, and usually need to be repeated six months later.

Tags:

What is A Gut Microbiome Test, And Why is It Necessary?

The importance of good health can not be stated enough, and you will certainly agree with this if you have been faced with one health issue or the other in the past. However, staying healthy demands that you make deliberate efforts towards maintaining good health always.

mediaimage
The importance of good health can not be stated enough, and you will certainly agree with this if you have been faced with one health issue or the other in the past. However, staying healthy demands that you make deliberate efforts towards maintaining good health always.

But as easy as caring for your external body parts are, extending the same care for your internal organs can become tricky. We have also learned that some of these internal parts, like the gut microbiome, house thousands of bacteria. These bacteria can be very harmful to the surrounding parts and organs if they become excessive. Therefore, monitoring these parts and the bacteria level becomes very critical. Do you know that it is possible to monitor the number of bacteria present in your body? Yes, you can do this by going for a microbiome gut test. This article highlights everything you need to know about a gut microbiome testing.

What is A Gut Microbiome Test?

The gut microbiota refers to the total number of bacteria residing in the gut. These bacteria can be good or bad, and some can be very dangerous and harmful to your organs. Gut microbiome testing helps analyze the bacteria present in your gastrointestinal tract. This test basically searches the gut and looks for signs of pathogens, and inflammatory and immune markers, then give feedback on the functionality of the digestive tract.

The test is kind of unique, however, compared to other tests like blood tests, and it involves testing the poop. Yes, it is not the most convenient method, but it has proven to be the most effective way of getting accurate results. Most patients are given a take-home kit to excrete and submit for test the next day.

What Microbiome Tests Reveal

A microbiome gut test can be an eye-opener because the result shows many unknown health conditions. Here are some things you stand to learn from a gut microbiome test.

Parasites: Your sample will be examined under a microscope for parasites, and the parasites will be diagnosed using the DNA found.
Yeast overgrowth: Yeast is a fungus that lives in the digestive system. When the yeast overgrows, it causes an infection called a yeast infection. But a gut microbiome test will help you spot yeast growth promptly.
Bacteria overgrowth: The first function of the microbiome test is to examine bacteria. Hence, it will inform you if there are excess bacteria in your system.
Immune markers: The microbiome gut test studies the immune markers and checks if the immune system is under-performing or functioning correctly.
Protein and fat: The level of protein and fat present on your stool is also considered during a microbiome test. The information is used to analyze how well you digest your food.
Good Bacteria: Yes, there are some bacteria that the body organs need for efficient performance. Your system may not appreciate the lack of sufficient amounts of these bacteria. The test helps to sort out the good bacteria and assess if they are sufficient in your body.

Conclusion

Taking a gut microbiome test may be the difference between assuming you are healthy and actually being healthy. It is essential because it helps to show some information vital to your organs’ efficiency, helping you tackle several threats promptly before they grow to cause infections.

Tags: