Respiratory Hygiene in Covid 19
Mrs. Rashmi P, Mrs. Sunitha P S, Mrs. Puruhit Saraswathi, Mrs. Vidya M
Dept. of Medical Surgical Nursing, JSS College of Nursing, Mysuru - 04
*Corresponding Author E-mail:
ABSTRACT:
Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO). A respiratory infection is spread when a person who is infected with a virus coughs or sneezes. The droplets released from an ill person’s cough or sneeze can travel for several feet reaching the nose or mouth of others and causing illness. The control of spread of pathogens from the source is key to avoid transmission. Among source control measures, respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette, developed during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, is now considered as part of standard precautions.
KEYWORDS: NPI (nonpharmaceutical interventions), SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).
INTRODUCTION:
Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refers to maintaining the body's cleanliness.1
The World Health Organization, and other international agencies, recommends the application of and compliance with basic infection control precautions known as nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPI) as the cornerstone to prevent transmission of droplet-spread epidemic-prone diseases in health care facilities.2
Respiratory Infection:
A respiratory infection is spread when a person who is infected with a virus coughs or sneezes. The droplets released from an ill person’s cough or sneeze can travel for several feet reaching the nose or mouth of others and causing illness. Viruses can spread easily from person to person through direct contact via touching or shaking hands. Droplets can also live for a short time on a variety of objects in the environment such as bed rails, door knobs, wheelchairs, or patient care equipment where they can be touched by another person.21st century has seen emergence of new respiratory viruses viz. severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, human meta-pneumovirus, coronaviruses NL 63, etc.2,3,4,5
Regarding respiratory infections there’s many literature and all guidelines putting respiratory hygiene as corner stone as preventive methods of respiratory infection spreading.4 The control of spread of pathogens from the source is key to avoid transmission. Among source control measures, respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette, developed during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, is now considered as part of standard precautions.5
Respiratory Hygiene/Cough Etiquette:
Respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette are terms used to describe infection prevention measures to decrease the transmission of respiratory illness (e.g., influenza and cold viruses).6
These infection prevention measures designed to limit the transmission of respiratory pathogens spread by droplet or airborne routes Prevention of the spread of disease is the most important step in population disease management. With the use of standard precautions, appropriate respiratory and hand hygiene, and appropriate patient precautions at the onset of symptoms, respiratory infections can be managed and maintained Like hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene is part of the standard precautions that should be taken to prevent the spread of disease.6,7,8
Elements:
Elements are included in respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette
1. Cover the mouths/noses when coughing or sneezing.
2. Use and dispose of tissues. (Use tissues, handkerchiefs, cloth mask or medical masks if available, as source control to contain respiratory secretions and dispose of them into the waste containers)
3. Perform hand hygiene if hands have been in contact with respiratory secretions
4. Spatial separation of the person with a respiratory infection from others.5,6.8,9
In COVID-19: How to maintain your Respiratory Hygiene:
Coronavirus is the pathogen implicated in SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). These diseases present as mild to severe acute upper respiratory tract infections with nonspecific symptoms. Most people are infected with coronavirus at some point, and while all people are susceptible, young children are at the highest risk for infection.3
With COVID-19 spreading to more than 145 countries now, people all over the world are trying their best to protect themselves from the infection. Be it wearing masks, using sanitizers or washing hands, but the best way to keep the virus at bay is by practicing respiratory hygiene.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, health authorities in some countries have recommended that citizens wear masks in public under certain circumstances.
Masks and COVID-19:
Purpose of mask use: whether it is to be used for source control (used by infected persons) or prevention of COVID-19 (used by healthy persons). Study results shows that that household transmission of influenza can be reduced by the use of NPI, such as facemasks and intensified hand hygiene, when implemented early and used diligently.11
Mask management:
Medical masks are a type of personal protective equipment used to prevent the spread of respiratory infections.12,13 Also called a surgical mask, a surgical mask is a loose-fitting disposable mask that protects the wearer's nose and mouth from contact with droplets, splashes and sprays that may contain germs. A surgical mask also filters out large particles in the air. Surgical masks may protect others by reducing exposure to the saliva and respiratory secretions of the mask wearer. Non-medical masks are often homemade of breathable fabrics and can be commercially available as well.13
For any type of mask, appropriate use and disposal are essential to ensure that they are effective and to avoid any increase in transmission.
A cross sectional study result that barriers to preventive practices were lack of awareness about cough etiquettes and hand hygiene.2
Hence creating the awareness among the public to practice respiratory hygiene is important in order to prevent the spread of infection transmission. Lets share the information, to be safe and save life.
REFERENCE:
1. Hygiene: overview, World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved 01June 2020.
2. Shrivastava PS et al. A cross sectional study to assess the awareness and practice about cough etiquettes among respiratory symptomatic patients in Tamil Nadu, Int J Community Med Public Health. 2019 Oct;6(10):4248-4252, http://www.ijcmph. com
3. Sydnee Chavis and Nisha Ganesh, Respiratory Hygiene and Cough Etiquette Infection Control in the Dental Office. 2019 Nov 18: 91–103. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-30085-2_7
4. Azza Mahmoud Altigani, Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of Health providers regarding respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette in critical areas at Ribat Teaching Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan, 2016
5. Standard precautions in health care WHO. Retrieved 01June 2020 https://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/StandardPrectHC.pdf
6. https://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/StandardPrectHC.pdf
7. https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/content/uploads/sites/3/2016/03/RespiratoryHygieneCoughEtiquette_
8. https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol
9. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/infectioncontrol/resphygiene.htm
10. https://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/6/CDC_Respiratory_Hygiene_Cough_Etiquette.pdf
11. Suess T et al. The role of facemasks and hand hygiene in the prevention of influenza transmission in households BMC Infect Dis 2012 Jan 26; 12:26. doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-12-26
12. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2762694
13. Advice on the use of masks in the community, during home care and in health care settings in the context of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved 01June 2020. https://www.who.int/publications
Received on 10.06.2020 Modified on 20.07.2020
Accepted on 20.08.2020 ©A&V Publications All right reserved
Int. J. of Advances in Nur. Management. 2020; 8(4):345-346.
DOI: 10.5958/2454-2652.2020.00077.3