Is Your Nursing Home Making you Sick? Long-term Care Facilities Provide An Ideal Environment For Communicable Diseases
Overcrowding is a common problem and complaint at many nursing home facilities. These facilities house large numbers of elderly residents, often in close proximity to each other, creating the ideal environment for dangerous outbreaks of communicable diseases. Communicable diseases are diseases that spread from person to person (contagious, infectious). These diseases are caused by germs (fungi, viruses, bacteria, and parasites). Disease Prevention Communicable diseases are spread by organisms that live in the soil, water, and air. They can be spread by: Touching Breathing Eating Drinking Kissing Sexual contact Insect bites Animals Our bodies have numerous microorganisms that live both in and on our bodies...
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Elderly Nursing Home Patients Are Paticularly Susceptible To Illness Related To Contaminated Food
Older adults are particularly susceptible to food poisoning because as you get older, your immune system does not respond as quickly and as effectively to infectious organisms as when you were younger. In addition, many nursing home residents already have weakened immune systems due to age, illness, and disease, and their bodies cannot handle the added onslaught caused by food poisoning. For example, dehydration, which is a common and serious complication of food poisoning, is also a risk factor for the development of pressure sores, which can present a serious risk to nursing home residents. Therefore, nursing homes should take extra precautions...
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