Infections, Most common complication.....Re-Post

Some more Folks with surgeries coming up So I thought I’d drop out a bit of stuff Specifically related to the “last minute preps” for surgery. This one has to do with prevention of infections. (Infections Are, ranging from very mild - To severe, the most common WLS complication) I’ve had 8 procedures in the last 4 years Ranging from Open Heart Valve Replacement To simple Hernia Repair. And yet- NO Incision Infections! What are the Odds?! Not Great if left un-tampered with….. But- I’m a bit of a Germ Hater, And I think my Pre-Surgery actions May have contributed to not having the problem of infections. So here’s what worked for me- (please skip, if you’ve read before or don’t need)

 

In the week before Surgery, I prepped my home as if my Open Heart Surgery Was going to be performed there! In my little crazed brain, I equate Germs with BUGS. They are too small and reproduce Way Too Fast. 100,000 times faster than rabbits, and without the Sex. I took an interesting Course back in Undergraduate School- “Insects and Human Welfare : Biology 547” I learned to Identify 100’s of Bugs and How to kill those that are a threat. It was one of the oddest, most interesting classes I ever took. I have a bizarre, insatiable Curiosity about everything. If I was a Cat, Curiosity would have already taken my 9^th Life Long Ago! One of my Favorite Books is- Richard Feynman’s,  “The Pleasure of Finding Things Out.”  But I Digress- Always, Obviously! I did learn that the surest way to wipe out a population of Insects is to use Multiple Methods in Tandem. For Example- If you use Raid to kill roaches, it is fairly effective at first But only about 95% of the Roach Population will be killed. The remaining 5% will be resistant to the Poison in Raid (Orthene) If you use Raid again on the next Generation of Roaches It will only kill about 75% of them and eventually after 9 generations You will have a house full of Roaches that are Raid Resistant. The trick is to use 3 different Insecticides. Swapping between each application The original 5% that were Raid Resistant, Will have the odds against them of also being resistant to The Poison in “Black Flag” (Dursban) And if any of those remain, the chances of them being resistant to A third, Different insecticide are less Than their chances of winning a Power-Ball Lottery.  On a Thursday. (great info by the way for a college student in a cheep ‘roachy’ apartment.) So- Going with this “How to Kill Bugs” info Tucked in my head, I went after the Germs in my house the same way. (see, I’ve come back to the Topic) Since the greatest concentration of Germs can be found in the Bathroom and Kitchen, (Water, go figure) I attacked them completely. Scrubbed with Lysol Cleaner (Raid) Until my kitchen and Bathrooms were spotless. Then came back the next day with Bleach (Black Flag) cut with water. In the shower, I just sprayed down the whole thing with Bleach and water and let it Dry while I was away. The Next Day I did similar with Ammonia. It helps to have all of that “OMG, My surgery is 5 days away” Energy That needs to go somewhere. In my case, Cleaning Like a Crazed Joan Crawford Was very Stress Relieving. And it looked like we were putting the house on the market! But I didn’t stop with those rooms. You know that commercial where the guy is jumping into bed And he stops- “All That ‘Body Soil!’” – And then they show a depiction of the sheets close-up And it’s bubbling with crap? Well, based in fact.  Anything that has been living on you When you got in bed, got in there with you But it didn’t necessarily get up for coffee the next morning. My Bedclothes Got all but boiled in Oxy-Clean, and Bleach, Twice. Sterile, is as Sterile Does……Then it was on to ME! Our skin is just crawling with little germs and fungus at all times. I took long hot showers twice a day for the 3 days prior to surgery (this was actually a recommendation of my heart surgeon) And scrubbed with pHisoderm® Skin Cleanser Followed the next time by - Betadine® Solution 10% Followed by- Hybiclens® So that I wouldn’t get as dry as a Dust Bowl I moisturized with Neosporin Ointment and Cream between showers. I paid particular attention to Skin folds and went After my nails with a nail Brush as if I was “Scrubbing In for Surgery” myself. Because I was!  (For those who are interested in a whole lot of Anti-Bacterial Products for Home and Personal Use, Visit- http://www.masune.com/Fast/ProductList.asp?Section=1570&SubSection=-1 I also did likewise with Anti-Fungal sprays, creams and ointments, Switching from Tolnaftate to Lamisil. While killing off the “Bugs,” I might as well get the “Mushrooms.” For Men – I also know that Hair and Hair Follicles are the Vacation Spots of Germs, I dealt with “Extra Hair.” When I went in the first time for my Open Heart Surgery, Two dear Nurses/Orderlies Used little clippers to shave me from neck to toes. The reason for the electric clippers rather than “shaving” with a blade, is that Shaving creates little tiny nicks in the epidermis that give germs a great number of Lush Oasis’s to live in, even with the palm trees cut down. And speaking of hair? My poor little Dog got a bath in Betadine Surgical Scrub. No Germ Left Behind!!! And then, they do say that the average human’s mouth Has more germs than a dogs Butt…. So, Yet Another one – Some Doctors have their patients gargle with Listerine The morning of surgery. Since they go through the mouth/throat to perform Some of the stuff (gross) and that he wants everything as germ-free as possible. By the time I was rolled into surgery, the Operating Room Was a cesspool compared to me. But, as a result, my chances of having an infection were greatly reduced. And for me, It’s all about the Odds! 7 full out surgeries, and a “out-patient, surgical procedure” later? 100% success! I know it seems More Than Obsessive, and to a degree it was But it did focus my Pre-Op Jitter Energy in a Productive way That reduced my chances of one of the most common complications That hit folks no matter what surgery they have. The other plus side was, That even not having a shower or bath of any sort for quite sometime In the Hospital, I remained fresh as a Daisy, And I had blemish free skin like a newborn. Those little Germs are great for making cheese, Leavening our bread, Making the important stuff Like Wine and Beer, But just like Bees who give us Honey? They’ll sting your @ss if given half a chance! Enough of my rambling. Go Forth and Win the “War on Bugs!” Best Wishes- Dx

 

My wife would kill you if she knew you posted this.  She actually HIDES soap from me, I wash my hands so much.  Nothing makes me feel better than a shower hot enough to cook pasta and skin scrubbed so thouroughly I almost bleed...Howard Hughes ain't got nuttin' on me! Thanks again for some good, useful info. Paul

I wish that I would have read this before my WLS I had my open RNY on august 30 2006 and two weeks latter I ended up back in the OR with a rather nasty wound infection after surgery I was sent home with a wound vac and went through some major complications so if you can avoid these infections do whatever it takes!!

Thanks for this re-ppost!  My surgery is next week and I was wondering aboiut steralizing the house (my surgeon's already talked to me about multiple anti-bacterial showers).