Summer children activities mean time spent outdoors. And you know spending time outdoors means the possibility of bug bites. You want to protect your child from bugs, but you don’t want to use sprays that could be dangerous. What are your options?

Even if your child is outside wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, there are no guarantees mosquitoes won’t bite. In fact, mosquitoes can bite right through clothing. It’s important to teach your children not to swat at insects that sting or bite.

Bug sprays have used DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) for years. This chemical compound, approved and endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is effective for repelling insects. However, there has been some concern about using DEET on children. DEET-based products provide protection for two to ten hours.

If you cannot find an alternative, be very careful when applying DEET products to children; be sure to use the lowest possible dose, 10 percent DEET. DEET should not be reapplied and should not be applied to children younger than two months old according to The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

One alternative to bug repellents with DEET are products made with Picaridin. Picaridin lasts for four to eight hours, is recommended by the CDC, and has been in use in Europe and Australia since the 1990s. It is odorless, doesn’t damage synthetic materials, and feels light. Like DEET products, it is not recommended for use on babies younger than two months.

Products made with Lemon Eucalyptus can also be found as an alternative to those made with DEET. These products are not recommended for children younger than the age of three, however. Lemon Eucalyptus provides six hours of bug-repellent protection. As the only natural plant-based protection, you may want to consider using this type of product if you don’t have children younger than three in your family.

There are other DEET-free products on the market, but you’ll want to read the labels closely to ensure you’re getting a true DEET-free product. One product, Bug Band, comes in spray lotion, towelettes, and a glow-in-the-dark bracelet. Ingredients come from geranium, rosemary, soybean, and mint oils and extracts. They purportedly are water resistant, reusable, and work for 120 hours.

The American Academy of Dermatology does not recommend the use of hybrid products that contain both a sunscreen and bug repellent. They reason that sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours whereas but repellent won’t need to be reapplied for four more hours. Combining the two products may also reduce how effective the sunscreen is.

Children are going to spend time outside during the summer months. If they’re outside, they will most likely face being bitten or stung by bugs. Using a bug repellent is a great way to protect your child from bugs. Your only other choice may be keeping them indoors, and even that isn’t a guarantee that they’ll be bug-bite free.

Facility-laundered, third-party laundered and single-use scrubs are ‘cleaner’

A study comparing the aerobic bacterial bioburden associated with surgical scrub attire shows significantly greater child safety contamination among home-laundered attire than scrubs laundered by the healthcare facility, scrubs sent out by the facility to a third-party company for laundering, or single-use/disposable scrubs. In fact, home-laundered scrubs cleaned and ready to wear had as much bacteria present as facility-laundered, third-party laundered and single-use scrubs which had been worn for one day.
Conducted in the spring of 2009, the study was performed by Bioscience Laboratories, Inc., of Bozeman, Mont., and sponsored by Molnlycke Health Care US, LLC. A total of 80 surgical scrub garments, tops and bottoms, prior to use and after use in the operating room for a day, were collected from multiple healthcare facilities across the U.S. They comprised 10 sets of scrubs in each category: single-use; home-laundered; facility-laundered; and third-party laundered.
The study showed no statistically significant difference in bacterial contamination among facility-laundered, third-party laundered or single-use scrubs prior to use (”clean”), but revealed that the bioburden found on home-laundered scrubs prior to use (”clean”) was significantly greater than on any of the other garments (facility-laundered, third-party laundered or single-use, non-woven) that had been worn for a day in the operating room.
“According to these results, a healthcare professional beginning his or her shift in home-laundered scrubs would essentially be wearing scrubs with the same quantity of bacteria as the scrubs of a healthcare professional finishing a shift in worn scrubs,” said Heather Beitz, BA MEd, Director of Clinical Research for Molnlycke Health Care.
“This study indicates that home-laundering is not as effective as facility- or third-party laundering in decontaminating surgical scrub attire,” Beitz explained. “Another option, of course, is single-use surgical attire. In addition to eliminating cross-contamination concerns as indicated in this study, single-use scrubs are durable and designed for daily use in a variety of surgical procedures and acute care needs and can reduce replacement costs,” she added.
BARRIER® surgical scrub suits and jackets, manufactured by Molnlycke Health Care, are non-woven, single-use products that provide comfort with the soft feel of cotton. They are available in extended size ranges (S - 4XL), assuring a variety of fits. Departments benefiting from the use of BARRIER non-woven scrubs and jackets are trauma, isolation, ER, NICU (for parents), L&D (for fathers), cath and GI labs, oncology, and radiology/interventional radiology.

SOURCE Molnlycke Health Care US, LLC

With cold and flu season upon us, it’s more important than ever to employ good practices to control the spread of infections and avoid illness. This is especially important for child safety.

“We need to be proactive not only to keep ourselves healthy, but to avoid transmitting illness if we’re sick,” said Eileen Finerty, RN, MS, CIC (certified in infection-control), nursing director for infection control and occupational health at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in Manhattan.

Hospital for Special Surgery has one of the lowest infection rates of any hospital in the country and was recently commended by the New York State Department of Health for its low infection rate in patients undergoing hip replacement. The overall infection rate refers to all infections acquired by patients in the hospital, not only viruses such as those that cause the flu.

Infection control in the health care setting is critical. Nationwide, hospital-acquired infections result in 100,000 deaths each year.

“We emphasize infection control as a best practice,” said Thomas P. Sculco, M.D., surgeon-in-chief at HSS, “and strive to maintain it at every level of patient care from washing hands to a clean and safe environment for our patients in the operating room and the entire hospital.”

HSS employs a combination of infection-control measures, according to Ms. Finerty. Some are highly sophisticated and others are basic good practices.

Strategies used by the hospital to keep germs in check can be adapted for use at home and in everyday life, according to Ms. Finerty. These practices include:
1 - Good hand hygiene using sanitizers.
Hospital: Hand sanitizers located all around the hospital have a sensor that dispenses foam without the need to touch it. The sensor detects hand motion and automatically releases foam.
What everyone can do: Sanitize hands frequently using an alcohol-based liquid hand cleaner. Use about a tablespoon, rub it into your hands and let it dry. Do not wipe it off. Ms. Finerty carries a hand sanitizer in her purse at all times.
2 - Frequent hand-washing.
Hospital: Hospital staff are instructed to wash their hands often. Signs around the hospital say: “Good Hand Hygiene Saves Lives.”
What everyone can do: Wash your hands for at least 15 seconds. You can sing “Happy Birthday” to get an idea of how long it should take. Work up a good lather and rub your hands together.
3 - Good ventilation.
Hospital: Clean air in operating rooms and the use of special panels to direct air flow to maintain the most sterile environment possible for the patient.
What everyone can do: Open the windows and let in some fresh air to ensure adequate ventilation. A stagnant, stuffy environment causes germs to re-circulate around the house.
4 - Controlling the spread of germs.
Hospital: The entire staff is trained in infection-control measures, such as coughing into a tissue and not into one’s hand. Boxes of tissues are located throughout the hospital. Staff are encouraged to stay home if they have a contagious illness.
What everyone can do: Carry tissues and dispose of them properly and immediately after coughing or sneezing. Then wash your hands or use a hand sanitizer. You can also cough into your sleeve to avoid getting germs on your hand that can later be spread.
In general, when you’re outside or at work, or if you have come in contact with a sick person, avoid touching your face. Germs on your hand get you sick when they enter your body through your eyes, nose or mouth, or through a break in the skin. Don’t go to work if you’re sick.
5 - Cleaning and disinfecting.
Hospital: HSS housekeeping staff is especially diligent about cleaning. The routine entails mopping, cleaning, and disinfecting surfaces, getting into cracks and crevices where bacteria can grow.

SOURCE Hospital for Special Surgery

In these times that the ozone layer is already damaged, everyone is advised to apply sunscreens for the skin’s protection. Even your babies are no exception to this. If your baby is under six months of age, it is advisable to use sunscreen only on the small areas of his/her body.  In majority of the cases, the face and the back of the hands are the body parts that require the use of sunscreen in infants. Make sure to use a sunscreen with an SPF between 20 and 30. Babies older than six months, sunscreens can be applied to them liberally.

Applying Sunscreen

Before using the sunscreen over the body parts of your baby, it is advisable to test it. Apply it on your baby’s back and wait for a few seconds, to make sure that there is no adverse reaction. Then, take a small amount of sunscreen in your hands and rub the palms over each other. Gently rub your sunscreen-smeared palms over the body parts of your child. Make sure to avoid the area around the eyes, even the eyelids.

For some emergency times when your baby ends up rubbing sunscreen into her eyes, it is advisable to wipe his/her eyes and hands clean, with the help of a damp cloth. Wash it with water as well. In case his/her eyes starts watering, become red or he/she tries to touch them time and again, it might be that his/her eyes are burning. In this case, wash his/her face immediately, even splashing some water in his/her eyes. If that is the case, next time, try a different brand of sunscreen.

The use of sunscreen in your babies require some extra care. It is advisable to use as little sunscreen on kids as possible. Be careful not to overuse it because your babies (depending on their age) are at high risk to be prone for chemical exposure that may result to some adverse reactions.

Summer activities mean time spent outdoors especially for children activities. And you know spending time outdoors means the possibility of bug bites. You want to protect your child from bugs, but you don’t want to use sprays that could be dangerous. What are your options?

Even if your child is outside wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, there are no guarantees mosquitoes won’t bite. In fact, mosquitoes can bite right through clothing. It’s important to teach your children not to swat at insects that sting or bite.

Bug sprays have used DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) for years. This chemical compound, approved and endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is effective for repelling insects. However, there has been some concern about using DEET on children. DEET-based products provide protection for two to ten hours.

If you cannot find an alternative, be very careful when applying DEET products to children; be sure to use the lowest possible dose, 10 percent DEET. DEET should not be reapplied and should not be applied to children younger than two months old according to The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

One alternative to bug repellents with DEET are products made with Picaridin. Picaridin lasts for four to eight hours, is recommended by the CDC, and has been in use in Europe and Australia since the 1990s. It is odorless, doesn’t damage synthetic materials, and feels light. Like DEET products, it is not recommended for use on babies younger than two months.

Products made with Lemon Eucalyptus can also be found as an alternative to those made with DEET. These products are not recommended for children younger than the age of three, however. Lemon Eucalyptus provides six hours of bug-repellent protection. As the only natural plant-based protection, you may want to consider using this type of product if you don’t have children younger than three in your family.

There are other DEET-free products on the market, but you’ll want to read the labels closely to ensure you’re getting a true DEET-free product. One product, Bug Band, comes in spray lotion, towelettes, and a glow-in-the-dark bracelet. Ingredients come from geranium, rosemary, soybean, and mint oils and extracts. They purportedly are water resistant, reusable, and work for 120 hours.

The American Academy of Dermatology does not recommend the use of hybrid products that contain both a sunscreen and bug repellent. They reason that sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours whereas but repellent won’t need to be reapplied for four more hours. Combining the two products may also reduce how effective the sunscreen is.

Children are going to spend time outside during the summer months. If they’re outside, they will most likely face being bitten or stung by bugs. Using a bug repellent is a great way to protect your child from bugs. Your only other choice may be keeping them indoors, and even that isn’t a guarantee that they’ll be bug-bite free.