Preventing the spread of infection at home

When someone at home has an infection, everyone else’s question is usually: “Will I catch it too?” The answer depends on the type of infection. Some spread through the air, some through hands and food, and some almost never pass from one person to another. This article gives a few simple steps that help with most of them, and explains why, for the real risk of each infection, you should rely on your doctor’s diagnosis.

Hands

The CDC says handwashing helps prevent the spread of respiratory and diarrhoeal infections. The CDC’s list of moments is useful when caring for a patient at home:

• Before and after preparing and eating food
• Before and after caring for someone who has vomiting or diarrhoea
• Before and after dressing a cut or wound
• After using the toilet
• After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
• After touching rubbish

Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. The CDC says that if soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitiser with at least 60 percent alcohol.

Respiratory infection: cough, flu and the like

For a viral respiratory illness the CDC advises staying home and keeping away from others, even healthy members of the household. The CDC also says wearing a suitable mask at home is one way to protect those around you. For flu, the NHS gives a few simple steps: wash your hands often with warm water and soap, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough and sneeze, throw used tissues away quickly, and stay home and have less contact with others if you have a fever.

For tuberculosis, WHO and the NHS draw an important distinction. Active TB spreads through the air when the patient coughs, and WHO recommends covering the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing. According to the NHS, latent TB does not spread to others. Which state your patient is in, and what precautions are needed, your doctor will tell you. Household members of someone with active TB should also be checked. Ask your doctor or health centre.

Stomach and bowel infection

For vomiting and diarrhoea, the NHS says:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water.
• Do not share towels, face cloths, cutlery or dishes.
• Wash clothes and bedding soiled with stool or vomit separately and at a high temperature.
• Every day, clean the toilet seat, flush handle, taps, surfaces and door handles.
• If possible, do not prepare food for others.
• Stay away from school or work until at least two days after the last vomiting or diarrhoea.

You should contact a doctor if the diarrhoea becomes bloody, the patient cannot keep fluids down, or there are still signs of dehydration after drinking rehydration solution. The NHS says vomiting blood, or vomit that looks like coffee grounds, is an emergency; in Iran call 115.

Infection that almost never passes from person to person

Not all infections pass from one person to another. For brucellosis, the CDC and WHO write that spread from one person to another is very rare. The risk of this illness comes mostly from unpasteurized milk and cheese and contact with infected animals. So if one person at home has brucellosis, the most important question is what the family has eaten or been in contact with together. The CDC says that if you do not know whether dairy is pasteurized, do not eat it. The page on local infections has more detail.

Which kind of infection your patient has becomes clear after the doctor’s diagnosis. Until then, washing hands and not sharing personal items help in any case.

Do not give the patient’s medicine to others

When one family member is given an antibiotic, the others should not reach for the same medicine to prevent illness. The CDC and NHS say not to share antibiotics. What should we do with leftover antibiotics? covers this in more depth.

Caring for the patient

• If you are looking after the patient, wash your hands before and after each act of care.
• When anyone at home develops a new fever, cough or diarrhoea, apply the same steps to them, and contact a doctor if the symptoms persist.
• If someone at home is pregnant or has weakened immunity, ask the doctor about extra precautions.
• Warning signs such as fever with a stiff neck, confusion or shortness of breath do not wait for an appointment. See the list of urgent signs and call 115.

A reminder

This article gives general precautions, and every infection has its own way of spreading and its own contagious period. Only a doctor, after a diagnosis, can determine your patient’s situation.