Stumped- Norovirus Question

[NurseW2Kiddies]

Actually the recommend using it ALONG WITH hand washing, not in lieu of.

 

Totally right. Starting in 2002 the CDC recommended washing hands that are visibly soiled and using the gel otherwise. There are a few exceptions to the rule...C-Diff for instance. It cannot break down the spores. That is always soap and water. I work in the hospital and they LOVE for us to use the gel. It can work even better if you do not use proper hand washing technique. Not everyone does.....

 

Since 2002, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended that health care workers routinely use high quality alcohol-based gels instead of soap and water on their hands when moving from patient to patient — as long the worker's hands aren't visibly soiled.

[kyrisong1]

Hep C is not contracted by touching things.. I know all about it and its only blood on blood. But, other virus can be caught by touching things.

Diabetics poke fingers to test sugars, we all get hang nails or paper cuts, peoples gums bleed and they touch their mouths.

You may feel confident about not catching Hep C through blood to hand to hand with cuts, but I'm not taking chances.

BTW I worked infectious med at a hospital for several years and not one person on that floor took chances with the kinds of bacterias that are out there now, I feel it's better to be overprotected than to not be protected enough.

Carole

[pafam4]

You can use great common sense hygiene, then touch an elevator button, hold the handrail on the stairway, touch a serving instrument after someone who DIDN'T wash their hands nor use an alcohol cleanser and whammo you are now possibly carrying around a bacteria or virus and could possibly contaminate everything else you touch.

 

Hence the stantiation stations -- use them, a ship is a huge petri dish

Yep. If you're going through the buffet and have washed your hands prior to that, you then pick up utensils, etc that those "non-handwashers" have touched. On a cruise, we do wash our hands, but also use the gel after getting our food from the buffet. I think the gel cleansers have a good purpose, especially in an enclosed environment like a ship. The hospitals in this area require all employees and volunteers to use the gel upon entering a patient's room. Maybe we'd better inform them that it isn't necessary;).

[Grits53]

Hepatitis C can live on surfaces a long time, like handrails, bathroom door handles leaving the rest room (oh yeah, my microbiology class swabbed everything and studied it) If you have doubts that people don't wash hands after toileting, go stand and watch!! Many will just dip their fingers in water without soap and feel they washed :eek:

I prefer to not catch Hep C, common colds, flu, MRSA, VRE. So I wash with soap and water often AND I use the hand sanitizers when out in public. At home, soap and water is enough, but there are a LOT of scary germs out there, one of the least is Noro, it will make you feel horrible, but it's curable, you that say the good bacteria will be killed, that may be true but in a ship or plane situation where there is close quarters, I'm thinking you may not be as safe as you think.

JMO, Carole

 

Sorry, but you are totally incorrect about Hepatitis C. It is contracted only through blood that enters your body through an open wound, needle, etc. Other hepatitis strains are contracted through these means, but not Hep C. My husband has had Hepatitis C since he contracted it through a blood transfusion after an accident in the early 1970's, before they tested blood. Thousands of people contracted Hep C through blood transfusions during that time. You probably know someone who has it, but you can't tell. THEY might not even know they have it, as it usually does not present symptoms until 30+ years later, when it starts causing liver damage. Since my husband has been involved in a world-wide study on this disease, we have received more info than the average person about it.

We have been married for 40 years. I do not have Hepatitis C, nor does anyone else in our family. We take no precautions around him, other than avoiding contact with his blood. However, I am one of those who uses the hand sanitizer gel every time I pass by a dispenser on ships, because there are so many OTHER germs that you can pick up on a ship. The one that concerns me most is staph, but I don't want my vacation ruined by a common cold, either.

[ray98]

Gels are an important step in keeping things sanitary when coupled with routine hand washing. Hand washing starts to lose its effectiveness the moment you touch anything, sanitizer on its own does not have the power to kill it all. Combine them and they work pretty good.

[Grits53]

DanActive Probiotic Immunity drinks help build our immunity. Until we started drinking one of these every day of the year, we suffered through several colds every winter. Since we started having one of these tasty little drinks every day, we very rarely have a cold, and when we do, it doesn't last as long as it does for others. We firmly believe in drinking DanActive, to the extent that we actually carry it onboard the ships for our cruises. You can find it in the yogurt section at most grocery stores and WalMart. It is a drink, not a cup of yogurt. It comes in 4 or 8 packs of 3 oz. bottles.

[ladybug1s]

My sister died having Hep. C; and as you said some people don't even know they have it, she was one of them. Carried it twenty some years till her death. Think I did not totally freak, we shared razors, toothbrushes, she was my sister! I got tested 3x and did not test for it. Hep B is the one you can get through food, feces, etc... Believe me, I became an expert when my sister was on her death bed dying from it! But yes, we all need to wash, wash, wash! I do childcare and my hands bleed from washing so much!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry, but you are totally incorrect about Hepatitis C. It is contracted only through blood that enters your body through an open wound, needle, etc. Other hepatitis strains are contracted through these means, but not Hep C. My husband has had Hepatitis C since he contracted it through a blood transfusion after an accident in the early 1970's, before they tested blood. Thousands of people contracted Hep C through blood transfusions during that time. You probably know someone who has it, but you can't tell. THEY might not even know they have it, as it usually does not present symptoms until 30+ years later, when it starts causing liver damage. Since my husband has been involved in a world-wide study on this disease, we have received more info than the average person about it.

We have been married for 40 years. I do not have Hepatitis C, nor does anyone else in our family. We take no precautions around him, other than avoiding contact with his blood. However, I am one of those who uses the hand sanitizer gel every time I pass by a dispenser on ships, because there are so many OTHER germs that you can pick up on a ship. The one that concerns me most is staph, but I don't want my vacation ruined by a common cold, either.

[right trip]

My husband and I were on the Celebrity Constellation' Holyland cruise in November. The ship was infested with the norovirsu. We were very restricted. We were not allowed to touch salt/pepper shakers, hold anything in the gift shops, or serve ourself at the buffet. Many people were quarenteened, some for several days. They crew was constantly cleaning. We were encouraged to wash our hands often and to use hand sanitizers at ever turn. When the ship finally arrived in the states, the ship was scrubbed down. Shame is that this was allowed to do on for several cruises before it docked in Florida.

[Grits53]

My sister died having Hep. C; and as you said some people don't even know they have it, she was one of them. Carried it twenty some years till her death. Think I did not totally freak, we shared razors, toothbrushes, she was my sister! I got tested 3x and did not test for it. Hep B is the one you can get through food, feces, etc... Believe me, I became an expert when my sister was on her death bed dying from it! But yes, we all need to wash, wash, wash! I do childcare and my hands bleed from washing so much!

 

I'm so sorry about your sister's untimely death. My husband has had no real symptoms from the Hep C, except that he does have cirrhosis now. When he was on that world-wide study treatment, he was almost clear of Hep C, when he came down with a serious staph infection due to low immunity caused by the treatment. He had to stop the treatment, so he still has Hep C. That was 4 yrs. ago. However, he will be starting a new treatment soon, which the (new to him) Dr. assures him will cure his Hep C without the serious side effects of the other program he was on. I hope so!

But on the subject of this thread....I totally agree with you about washing hands and using hand sanitizer!

[ladybug1s]

She did not have a chance for treatments since she never knew she had it. Glad your husband does;) Hope he is doing well! My sister liked her " beverages" also;) hehe

 

 

But yes, wash, wash, and sanitizing while on the ship can't hurt?

[H82seaUgo]

But yes, wash, wash, and sanitizing while on the ship can't hurt?

 

all it can do is move a virus from one part of your hand / fingers to another. that's why these things are so silly. the stuff evaporates, and the virus remains, all while killing the good bacteria found on your hands.

 

and don't get me started on what lives under your rings.

[ooulio]

You can also catch it in airports. A few years ago we took a cruise. Left fine. Got stranded in a airport North Carolina for the nite and all nite. Met some people in bathrooms and stuck in those stupid chairs. So many sick people. They made everyone go to the front of the airport and spend the nite. It was like 10 hours in the freezing cold. The planes left before we landed and spent a nite of hell. They lied and told us planes were waiting. Last time I took US Airways. thanks to that flight and nite from hell, i caught Celiac. My dr diagnosed it was from that nite at airport. Celiac is brought on from being stressed . I have met so many people that caught it from accidents and stressed. Now I caught shingles . So have 2 illnesses from hell. I am very careful anymore. Shingles is also brought on from being stressed and run down. Emergen C can also boost your immune system. I have checked with 2 specialists. It works when I am run down and tired. I carry them all the time. I even carry them on cruises. Works fine for me. Sorry that I am rambling on. Am at lunch . Keep reading more bad stories on Texas. Hopefully weather gets better ....Everyone have a great day.