Preventing Pseudomonas in the home environment

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My neighbor's son has a health condition that requires regular cathing. He also has a c-tube (in the colon) and has to flush his colon with a laxative solution daily, and he is incontinent. This is all due to a tumor in his spine as a baby. Anyway, he is struggling with Pseudomonas infection and is currently on his second or third antibiotic. The infection is in his bladder. He uses new catheters every time and the family tries to be clean, wash hands, etc.

Recently the mother also came down with a Pseudomonas infection but in her sphenoid sinus. She is going to need surgery next week to drain the sinus and irrigate it. Her doctor said as long as her son is struggling with his infection, which seems to be chronic at this point, she and the rest of the family are at risk of infection. She was asking me (as the neighborhood nursing student :p ) how she can help to sanitize her house and prevent further infection. Any suggestions? Is there something she might be doing wrong? They are using Lysol in the bathroom that their son uses to cath and do his colon treatment, and they wash their hands often. What else can they do?

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Specializes in psych. rehab nursing, float pool.

1 tablespoon of bleach to gallon of water will kill the following on hard surfaces.

A. Bacteria

Staphylococcus aureus (Staph.)

Salmonella choleraesuis

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep.)

Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli)

Shigella dysenteriae

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

Fungi

Trichophyton mentagrophytes (can cause Athlete's Foot)

Candida albicans (a yeast)

Viruses

Rhinovirus Type 37 (a type of virus that can cause colds)

Influenza A (Flu virus)

Hepatitis A virus

Rotavirus

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)

HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)*

Herpes simplex Type 2

Rubella virus

Adenovirus Type 2

Cytomegalovirus

Use 1 tablespoon of Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water. Wash, wipe or rinse items with detergent and water then apply sanitizing solution. Let stand 2 minutes. Air dry. Kills the following:

Staphylococcus aureus (Staph.)

Escherichia coli 0157:H7 (E. coli)

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Specializes in LTC, Memory loss, PDN.

This sounds serious. I'm not an infection control specialist, but some common sense approaches should help. First, healthy living, plenty of sleep etc. Routine cleansing and sanitizing of all areas, not just the bathroom. Proper handling and disposal of waste/contaminated material. I also suspect that technique and handwashing are not as good as could be. Has the family been taught on good handwashing technique and frequency? Use of liquid soap and paper towels (after cath or other procedures). Proper handling and sanitizing of laundry.

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This sounds serious. I'm not an infection control specialist, but some common sense approaches should help. First, healthy living, plenty of sleep etc. Routine cleansing and sanitizing of all areas, not just the bathroom. Proper handling and disposal of waste/contaminated material. I also suspect that technique and handwashing are not as good as could be. Has the family been taught on good handwashing technique and frequency? Use of liquid soap and paper towels (after cath or other procedures). Proper handling and sanitizing of laundry.

I will ask what the doctor or nurses have been telling them about spreading this. Maybe I can suggest she speak to someone about it. The mom is under a lot of strain. She tends to be emotional and stressed out anyway. Besides her son with his issues, her sister has stage 4 cancer right now and she's just having a very hard time. Maybe her stress contributed to her infection. In any case I will suggest the bleach solution and letting surfaces dry, and ask if they are using bleach/hot water for clothes. I will suggest that the son has his own set of towels, too. The son does his own caths in a dedicated bathroom. He's a teen and does most of his care himself, except for the ctube.

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Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.

I ditto systolys' point about care of laundry. Anything on which or in which contaminated laundry has been placed, needs 1 Tbsp. bleach for every gallon of water used, to sanitise those surfaces afterward. Dilute the bleach in at least a gallon of water before putting it into the wash, or colored things will be ruined.

I'd also recommend washing the son's laundry separately and afterward clean the machine with the water and bleach, running that through a rinse cycle. Then don't wash the family's colored things in the machine next, just in case bleach is still in the pipes.

Once the whole family has cultures done for them, where pseudamonas could be, and antibiotic treatment for those who had positive results is finished, follow up cultures need to be done to assure the treatment worked. Once they're negative, they can relax somewhat about the laundry. I'd get rid of all the catheters used when he had pseudamonas.

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