The Nation's Health

Health Tips: How to Prevent Infections after Bone Marrow Transplant

Are you looking for the bone morrow transplants?

Or

Are you one of those who want to know how to prevent infection after bone morrow transplant?

In any of these cases you need to know what is bone morrow transplant or bone disease, who needs it and how to prevent infection.

Bone morrow is fatty and very soft tissue, which is always inside your bones. It produces red blood cells. There are immature cells known as stem cells in your bone morrow which gives rise to different blood inside your body.

What is Bone Morrow Transplant?

How to Prevent Infections after Bone Marrow Transplant

How to Prevent Infections after Bone Marrow Transplant

A bone marrow transplant is a complete procedure to replace destroyed or damaged bone marrow with healthy stem cells of bone morrow.

Who needs a bone marrow transplant? If you are suffering from a life threatening disease such as blood cancer then you need bone morrow transplant, as such disease cause bone morrow failure.

How to prevent infections after bone marrow transplant? Your immune system is weak if you have gone through bone marrow transplant and it creates a risk for infection. It takes time for your immune system to become normal. Now you need to know the causes of infection.

Causes of infection Following are the usual causes of infection after bone marrow transplant:

  • First Month: herpes virus, fungi, bacteria
  • Second Month: Fungi, bacteria, cytomegalovirus, or other viruses
  • Third Month: Fungi, bacteria, varicella zoster
Preventing infection

Hygiene Focus on hygiene. Clean yourself daily with the water and soap to prevent infection from bacteria. Oral care is also necessary to minimize gum bleeding and infection. Use soft toothbrush to care for gums and teeth. Use fluoride paste after each meal. Also use a mouth wash.

Prevent infections caused by direct contact Always wash your hands with warm water and antimicrobial soap. Use hand sanitizer when outside home.

When you must hand wash:

  • After going outdoors
  • After contacting pets
  • After touching soil or clothes
  • After blowing nose, coughing, sneezing
  • Before taking medicines
  • Before & after preparing food
  • Before and after eating
  • Before and after central venous catheter care
Prevent transferable infections: Avoid contacting plants, pets, farming, gardening, raking, mulching, mowing etc. But this doesn`t mean that you cannot go outside the house.

You should go for walk, biking or other outdoor activities.

Prevent respiratory infections

  • Avoid contact with people who have respiratory illnesses.
  • Avoid crowded areas.
  • Avoid construction sites.
  • Avoid tobacco and marijuana.
  • Avoid fireplaces.
  • Avoid house cleaning.
  • Avoid the use of a room humidifier.
Prevent pet-transmitted infections I am not saying that you sell your pets, but I am saying tht you should atleast minimize direct contact with pets till the time you are recovering. Let your family take care of your pets.

To prevent salmonella you should avoid contact with chicks, ducklings and reptiles.

Tips of Water safety After bone transplant, avoid swimming, wading, walking in recreational water such as pools, hot tubs, lakes and ponds.

Do not drink well water to avoid bacterial infection. Recommended to boil-water before using. You can use bottled water if it has been processed by any one of these processes:

  • Reverse osmosis
  • Distillation
  • 1-µm particulate absolute filtration
Vaccinations All family members should be vaccinated to minimize the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases. Children should receive the MMR vaccine.

If you still looking for more help and need to go for a bone marrow transplant than Manipal Hospital is here for you.

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