Hygiene in healthcare facilities is crucial to preventing disease. Today, we know more than ever about proper sanitation, how to stop the spread of pathogens, and keep patients healthy; however, hygiene practices in the health field haven’t always been ideal. Let’s take a look at hospital cleanliness throughout the years and see what events, inventions, and practices brought us to where we are today.
460 – 370 BC
Hippocrates — also referred to as the “Father of Western Medicine” — is credited as the first to discover that cleansing could prevent infection. He recognized that pus was not a healthy stage in the healing process, and treated wounds with wine and bandages.
27 BC – 476 AD
Many advances in medical cleanliness were developed during the Roman Empire. They built public baths, aqueducts to produce fresh water, and sewer systems to dispose of waste. The Romans advocated proper hygiene and cleansed wounds with vinegar and thyme oil, both of which have antiseptic properties.
476 – 1500 AD
With the fall of the Roman Empire, most of the knowledge and advancements in sanitization were lost — thus, the Middle Ages were a dark time for hygienic medical care. Life expectancies decreased, and Europeans were subjected to filthy living conditions and poor hygiene practices. To make matters worse, the water was contaminated. Disease outbreaks were uncontrollable and “treated” with religion, superstition, and astrology. Some serious medical issues were treated with surgery, but even if the surgery was successful, the patient was highly susceptible to fatal infections during recovery.
The 19th Century
With the Industrial Revolution, in the mid-1800s, came new discoveries in the health field. Regular hand washing led to a decreased death rate, and the link between germs and disease was proven. New advances in sterilization — such as the use of antiseptics and the invention of the autoclave — were also developed. These new forms of infection control increased life expectancy, lowered the death rate in children, and gave surgeons the confidence they needed to explore more difficult procedures.
The 20th Century – Present Day
Scientists and medical professionals have worked tirelessly to conquer infections from outside contamination, but not until recently did they consider the unsettling realization regarding the transmission of pathogens from healthcare surfaces to patients. In fact, the CDC estimated that 722,000 healthcare-associated infections occurred in 2011, making the issue of sanitation in healthcare facilities more prevalent than ever. Additional and recent studies have also !shown that patient surfaces such as bed rails, tables and other furniture, and call buttons could likely be contributing to the transfer of disease from one patient to another. What many experts are, therefore, determining is that more preventative measures must be taken to ensure the sterility of a patient’s hospital room. The first step in room cleanliness and infection control is the proper sanitation of these surfaces, and the second step is to make certain that healthcare providers are not introducing pathogens to clean rooms.
The floor of a hospital is the hardest surface to keep clean, and bacteria can easily be tracked on one’s shoes from one patient’s room to another. One way to reduce the risk of contamination is by utilizing sterile and disposable shoe covers. Increase safety compliance and cut down on contamination with the easy-to-use, slip resistant, and heavy duty shoe covers offered by BootieButler.
Healthcare, hygiene practices, and infection control have come a long way since their beginnings. Many discoveries, advancements, and setbacks over the battle of infection have contributed to where we are right now. While not perfect, cleanliness standards are moving in a cleaner direction, every day.
