Nick had a central line in his chest that was probably touched by human hands at least 1,000 times. He had the line in his chest for 9 months and it never got infected. Our family also managed to not get sick during the entire time that Nick was treated.
During Nick’s treatment, whenever he was admitted, before Nick touched anything, we would put on rubber gloves and wipe everything down using antibacterial wipes. I mean everything: light switches, TV controls, chairs, bed handles, toilets, counter tops, doors, and anything that the hands might touch. If you think the hospital is clean, think again. There are super germs living in the hospital that are waiting to get people sick. At home, we would also wipe everything down after normal house cleaning. Hand washing became a matter of survival.
I think people get sick too often because hand washing and cleaning are not taken as seriously as they should. But when your kid has cancer and has less than 100 white cells per micro liter and normal is over 4,500, one infection and he is in the hospital. Cleaning and germ control is very important. If this awareness of infection control existed in every household, we would all be healthier!