Q. I heard your radio show on infection control last week while driving to the hospital to visit my wife. Later that day, because of your show, I observed the following: A nurse arrived to hang another bag of antibiotics. She washed her hands, but before she could complete the task, her phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and began talking, stepping into the hall to finish her conversation.
When she returned to the room, she dropped her phone in her pocket and hung the antibiotics without washing her hands. It happened so quickly, I did not intervene, but it is frightening.
A. Cell phones are a potential source of contamination. A British study recently found that one phone in six was contaminated with fecal bacteria. The nurse should have washed after the call.
Infections in hospitals, nursing homes and outpatient surgical centers cause more than 100,000 deaths each year. We recently received a heartbreaking story from a reader:
"I watched as a nurse scratched an IV site with his fingernail. Supposedly he was removing dried blood from my 89-year-old father's arm. By that afternoon, my dad's forearm turned red, and by the next day he was in excruciating pain. He died a few weeks later of a MRSA infection. He was healthy when he went into the hospital for observation while drugs were initiated to shrink his prostate."
Patients must be vigilant. Hundreds of thousands die each year from adverse drug reactions, misdiagnoses and blood clots in addition to infection. You can learn more about protecting yourself or your loved ones in our new book, "Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them" (online at www.peoplespharmacy.com).
---
Q. I am addicted to lip balm. If I don't have a tube in my pocket, it feels like an emergency. Even when I apply it repeatedly, the relief is short-lived. Is there something in this type of product that actually makes chapped lips worse?
A. Some lip balms contain ingredients such as peppermint oil that may cause allergic reactions (Dermatitis, April 2010). This may lead to dryness and chapping. If your usual brand contains peppermint oil, look for one that does not.
---
Q. I have type 2 diabetes and have been taking Actos for the past 10 years. I have seen notices on TV about this drug causing bladder cancer, and I'm worried.
Is there a test to determine if I have bladder cancer? I am 58 years old.
A. The Food and Drug Administration announced in June that people who have taken Actos for more than a year may be at greater risk of bladder cancer. As a result, the agency warns that anyone with bladder cancer should avoid the drug, and it should be used "with caution" by those who had bladder cancer in the past.
If you experience symptoms of bladder cancer such as blood in the urine, painful urination, urinary urgency or pain in the back or lower abdomen, see your doctor. That said, we suspect that this is a rare occurrence.
---
In their column, the Graedons answer letters from readers. Write to them via their website: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.