Preventing Infection 525
Health Care Skills
Preventing Infection ................................................525
Washing your hands........................................ 526
How to disinfect...............................................526
How to Take Temperature, Pulse,
Respiration and Blood Pressure..........................530
Temperature....................................................... 530
Pulse....................................................................... 531
Respiration (breathing rate)........................531
Blood pressure..................................................532
How to Examine the Abdomen..........................534
How to Examine a Woman’s Genitals
(the Pelvic Exam)....................................................... 535
Caring for Burns .......................................................538
How to Give Fluids to Treat Shock .................. 540
How to give rectal fluids...............................541
How to Give an Injection......................................542
Where to give an injection..........................542
How to prepare a syringe .........................543
How to inject into the muscle.................... 544
How to give an injection under the
skin (subcutaneous injection)......................544
Be prepared to treat allergic
reaction and allergic shock...........................545
Acupressure Massage..............................................546
In many parts of this book we refer to certain skills that can help a person give the
best care to someone who is ill. These skills include preventing infection, giving an exam
and getting information about a person’s body, giving life-saving fluids, and giving injections.
This section gives more complete information about these skills. You may think of
these as ‘doctor’s’ or ‘nurse’s’ skills, but they are all skills that anyone can learn with time
and practice. Some skills, like giving an exam or an injection, are best
learned by having a skilled person show you how. Once learned,
all of these skills can make a careful person better able to help
others safely.
Preventing Infection
Infections cause many kinds of sickness. People who are
already sick or hurt are often more at risk for getting an
infection, and getting one can make them much sicker. So
it is important to do everything you can to keep infections
from developing. It is also important to protect yourself
from getting an infection from those you care for.
Infections are caused by germs, such as bacteria
and viruses, that are too small to see. Every
person carries bacteria on her skin, and in her
mouth, intestines, and genitals all the time.These germs
do not usually cause problems, but they can cause infections
if passed to sick people. Germs also live on the equipment and tools used when caring
for a sick person and can easily be passed to others you help.
You can prevent infection by following the guidelines in this chapter. For other ways
to prevent infection, see page 149.
IMPORTANT You must follow these guidelines every time you help someone, whether you
use your hands, tools, or special equipment. If you do not, you may get a dangerous infection, or
pass an infection to the people you are helping.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012