You can help prevent medical errors by being an active member of your health care team. Research shows that patients who are more involved with their care tend to get better results. To reduce the risk of medical errors, you can

• Ask questions if you have doubts or concerns. Take a relative or friend to your doctor appointment to help you ask questions and understand answers.
• Make sure you understand what will happen if you need surgery
• Tell your health care providers about all the medicines you take, including over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements. Tell them if you have any allergies or bad reactions to anesthesia. Make sure you know how to take your medications correctly.
• Get a second opinion about treatment options
• Keep a copy of your own health history

Medical errors can occur anywhere in the health care system: hospitals, clinics, surgery centers, doctors' offices, nursing homes, pharmacies, and patients' homes. Errors can involve medicines, surgery, diagnosis, equipment, or lab reports. These tips tell what you can do to get safer care.

One in seven Medicare patients in hospitals experience a medical error. But medical errors can occur anywhere in the health care system: In hospitals, clinics, surgery centers, doctors' offices, nursing homes, pharmacies, and patients' homes. Errors can involve medicines, surgery, diagnosis, equipment, or lab reports. They can happen during even the most routine tasks, such as when a hospital patient on a salt-free diet is given a high-salt meal.

Most errors result from problems created by today's complex health care system. But errors also happen when doctors* and patients have problems communicating. These tips tell what you can do to get safer care.

What You Can Do To Stay Safe

The best way you can help to prevent errors is to be an active member of your health care team. That means taking part in every decision about your health care. Research shows that patients who are more involved with their care tend to get better results.

Medicines

1. Make sure that all of your doctors know about every medicine you are taking.
   This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements, such as vitamins and herbs.

2. Bring all of your medicines and supplements to your doctor visits.
   "Brown bagging" your medicines can help you and your doctor talk about them and find out if there are any problems. It can also help your doctor keep your records up to date and help you get better quality care.

3. Make sure your doctor knows about any allergies and adverse reactions you have had to medicines.
   This can help you to avoid getting a medicine that could harm you.

4. When your doctor writes a prescription for you, make sure you can read it.
   If you cannot read your doctor's handwriting, your pharmacist might not be able to either.

5. Ask for information about your medicines in terms you can understand—both when your medicines are prescribed and when you get them:

   • What is the medicine for?
   • How am I supposed to take it and for how long?
   • What side effects are likely? What do I do if they occur?
   • Is this medicine safe to take with other medicines or dietary supplements I am taking?
   • What food, drink, or activities should I avoid while taking this medicine?

6. When you pick up your medicine from the pharmacy, ask: Is this the medicine that my doctor prescribed?

7. If you have any questions about the directions on your medicine labels, ask.
   Medicine labels can be hard to understand. For example, ask if "four times daily" means taking a dose every 6 hours around the clock or just during regular waking hours.

8. Ask your pharmacist for the best device to measure your liquid medicine.
   For example, many people use household teaspoons, which often do not hold a true teaspoon of liquid. Special devices, like marked syringes, help people measure the right dose.

9. Ask for written information about the side effects your medicine could cause.
   If you know what might happen, you will be better prepared if it does or if something unexpected happens.

Hospital Stays

1. If you are in a hospital, consider asking all health care workers who will touch you whether they have washed their hands.
   Handwashing can prevent the spread of infections in hospitals.

2. When you are being discharged from the hospital, ask your doctor to explain the treatment plan you will follow at home.
   This includes learning about your new medicines, making sure you know when to schedule follow-up appointments, and finding out when you can get back to your regular activities.
   It is important to know whether or not you should keep taking the medicines you were taking before your hospital stay. Getting clear instructions may help prevent an unexpected return trip to the hospital.

Surgery

1. If you are having surgery, make sure that you, your doctor, and your surgeon all agree on exactly what will be done.
   Having surgery at the wrong site (for example, operating on the left knee instead of the right) is rare. But even once is too often. The good news is that wrong-site surgery is 100 percent preventable. Surgeons are expected to sign their initials directly on the site to be operated on before the surgery.

2. If you have a choice, choose a hospital where many patients have had the procedure or surgery you need.
   Research shows that patients tend to have better results when they are treated in hospitals that have a great deal of experience with their condition.

Other Steps

1. Speak up if you have questions or concerns.
   You have a right to question anyone who is involved with your care.

2. Make sure that someone, such as your primary care doctor, coordinates your care.
   This is especially important if you have many health problems or are in the hospital.

3. Make sure that all your doctors have your important health information.
   Do not assume that everyone has all the information they need.

4. Ask a family member or friend to go to appointments with you.
   Even if you do not need help now, you might need it later.

5. Know that "more" is not always better.
   It is a good idea to find out why a test or treatment is needed and how it can help you. You could be better off without it.

6. If you have a test, do not assume that no news is good news.
   Ask how and when you will get the results.

7. Learn about your condition and treatments by asking your doctor and nurse and by using other reliable sources.
   For example, treatment options based on the latest scientific evidence are available from the Effective Health Care Web site. Ask your doctor if your treatment is based on the latest evidence.

*The term "doctor" is used in this flier to refer to the person who helps you manage your health care.

Having a health problem can be scary. Add in a visit to the hospital, and it can become overwhelming. But there are things you can do to make your stay safer and more comfortable.

Hospitals are busy places. Different people may come in and out of your room. You might have many tests. And while you wait for answers, there can be harmful germs lurking around. These things can raise the chance for medical errors and infections.

Being engaged and asking the right questions can help lower the risks that come with a hospital stay, says Laura Lee, who oversees patient safety at the NIH Clinical Center, the nation’s largest research hospital.

Lee suggests you bring along someone you trust. Having someone with you can be a big help in making decisions and navigating your stay. It can be a friend or family member.

If you don’t have someone with you, a trusted member of your care team can be your advocate too. They can help explain things if you need more information. Some hospitals may have special patient advocates you can ask for as well.

Next, figure out who’s in charge of your care. Ask your care team: “Who is the captain of my ship?” Lee says. You’ll want to find out who is responsible for leading the team and resolving issues if something goes wrong. This person can help ensure that your needs are met.

Infections are a major concern during a hospital stay. The good news is that hand washing is a simple way to prevent the spread of germs.

It’s important that everyone coming into your room practice good hand hygiene. This includes you, your visitors, and the hospital staff caring for you. Don’t be afraid to ask: “Did you wash your hands?” if you didn’t see them do it.

It’s also important to talk honestly with your medical team. “Be an open communicator and partner with your health care team,” says Capt. Antoinette Jones, the NIH Clinical Center patient representative. “You have to be willing to speak up for yourself.”

Don’t be shy about asking the same question two or three times. Answers to medical questions can be complicated. You may get different answers from different people caring for you. Keep asking until you feel like you understand completely.

Don’t feel like you’re wasting your doctor’s time by asking questions. “That white coat is not armor that keeps you from asking questions or asking them to explain. It’s just a piece of fabric,” Lee says. Speak up if you have concerns. They’re there to help you.

Finally, keep a written record of your stay. At the NIH Clinical Center, patients can access many of their medical notes and test results electronically in real time. If your hospital doesn’t offer this option, you or your advocate can take careful notes instead. Record information about tests, medications, and the providers that come to visit.

Having this record can help prevent mistakes by allowing you to double-check information. And you can always request to have a complete copy of your electronic health record at any time.

By following these tips, you can take charge of your safety. For more info, see the Wise Choices box.

Stay Safe in the Hospital

• Bring a friend or family member with you to serve as an advocate.
• Know the members of your care team. Learn who’s overseeing your care.
• Make sure your care providers and visitors wash their hands or use hand sanitizer.
• Know the signs and symptoms of infection.
• Ask your health care team questions and voice any concerns.
• Protect yourself by getting vaccinated against flu.
• Keep a written record about tests, medications, and the providers who visit you to help prevent mistakes.

You go to the hospital to get well, right? Of course, but did you know that you can get infections in the hospital while you are being treated for something else?

Time in the hospital can put you at risk for a healthcare-associated infection (HAI), such as a blood, surgical site, or urinary tract infection.

Every day, patients get infections in healthcare facilities while they are being treated for something else. These infections can have devastating emotional, financial, and medical effects. Worst of all, they can be deadly.

Healthcare procedures can leave you vulnerable to germs that cause HAIs. These germs can be spread in healthcare settings from patient to patient on unclean hands of healthcare personnel or through the improper use or reuse of equipment.

These infections are not limited to hospitals. For example, in the past 10 years alone, there have been more than 30 outbreaks of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in non-hospital healthcare settings such as

• outpatient clinics,
• dialysis centers, and
• long-term care facilities.

Protect yourself and your family from harmful germs that can cause infections

• Keep your hands clean. Regular hand cleaning is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent spreading germs.
• Take antibiotics only when your provider thinks you need them. Ask if your antibiotic is necessary. If you take antibiotics when you don’t need them, you’re only exposing yourself to unnecessary risk of side effects and potentially serious infections in the future. If you do need antibiotics, take them exactly as they’re prescribed.
• Watch for signs of infection and its complications, like sepsis. Get care right away—don’t delay.
  • Tell your doctor if you think you have an infection, or if your infection is not getting better or is getting worse.
• Watch out for life-threatening diarrhea caused by C. difficile. If you have been taking an antibiotic, tell your doctor if you have 3 or more diarrhea episodes in 24 hours.
• Get vaccinated against flu and other infections to avoid complications.

Be a safe patient in the hospital

• Tell your doctors if you have been hospitalized in another facility, have recently received health care outside of the United States, or have recently had an infection.
• Ask your healthcare provider what they and the facility will do to protect you and your family from an antibiotic-resistant infection.
  • If you have a catheter, ask daily when it can be removed.
  • If you are having surgery, ask your doctor how they prevent infections. Also, ask how you can prepare for surgery to reduce your infection risk.
• Keep your hands clean. Make sure everyone cleans their hands before touching you. Remind healthcare personnel and your visitors to clean their hands.
• Let your doctors check you for resistant germs if needed. Hospitals need to screen patients if they’re exposed, and this helps protect you and those around you.
• Understand that if you have a resistant bacteria, healthcare providers may use gowns and gloves when caring for you.
• Allow people to clean your room while you’re in the hospital, even when it feels inconvenient for you.
  • Environmental services workers are the people who clean patient rooms in the hospital, and they are important members of the healthcare team.
  • Allowing them to clean and disinfect your room helps keep you safe by reducing your risk of developing an infection—don’t say, “come back later.”

You can help protect yourself from infections when you get medical care. This is especially important when you have a medical procedure, like surgery or dialysis.

Take these steps to help prevent infections when you have a medical procedure:

• Talk with your doctor or nurse about infections.
• Make sure your doctors, nurses, and visitors always wash their hands.
• Follow the instructions for preventing infections after your procedure.

How do medical procedures put people at risk for infections?

Germs can spread from one patient to another or from doctors and nurses to patients. You are at greater risk from germs that can cause infections if you have:

• An open wound (cut) after surgery
• An IV (intravenous) tube
• A catheter (tube in your vein or bladder)
• A ventilator (breathing tube)

The good news is that patients and doctors can work together to prevent the spread of germs and the infections they cause.

What types of infections can people get from medical procedures?

Infections people get from visiting a hospital, health clinic, doctor’s office, or other health care facility are called health care-associated infections (HAIs).

These infections can lead to sickness and even death. Blood infections and urinary tract infections from catheters are examples of HAIs.

How will I know if I have an infection?

Common signs that you may have an infection include:

• Fever
• Burning or pain below the stomach (the lower abdomen)
• Burning when peeing (urinating) or having to pee more often than usual
• Redness or pain around a catheter or wound
• Pus or other liquid coming from the skin
• Diarrhea (frequent, watery poop)

Take Action!

You and your doctor or nurse can work together to prevent infections by following these steps.

Talk with your doctor about preventing infections.

Before having surgery or getting another type of medical procedure, talk with your doctor or nurse about:

• Any medical problems you have, like diabetes
• What will be done before the procedure to help prevent an infection, like cleaning the skin with soap
• What you can do to help protect yourself from an infection after the procedure

Start the conversation by saying, “I know how easy it is for people to get infections. I don’t want it to happen to me.”

Speak up if something doesn’t seem right.

Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions before or after your procedure. For example, if your bandages aren’t clean, dry, or attached well, point this out to the doctor or nurse. Your safety is their priority.

After your procedure, pay close attention to changes in your health. If you get home and start to feel sick or notice signs of an infection, call your doctor or nurse right away.

Always make sure your doctors and nurses wash their hands.

Politely ask your doctors and nurses if they washed their hands. This is one of the most important ways to prevent infections. Even if they wear gloves, they still need to wash their hands before putting them on – just wearing gloves is not enough to prevent infections.

If you feel uncomfortable asking the doctors or nurses if their hands are clean, remember that it’s their job to help keep you safe and healthy.

Ask your visitors to wash their hands, too.

Make sure your family members and friends wash their hands when they visit you. And if a loved one isn’t feeling well, ask him or her to call you instead of visiting in person.

Take steps to prevent infections after a procedure.

• Wash your hands often, especially after you’ve had surgery. Be sure to wash your hands with soap and water after using the bathroom and before eating.
• Follow the instructions you get for what to do after a medical procedure.
• Always wash your hands before touching a wound or catheter.
• If you have a catheter, ask every day if it's time for the catheter to be removed.
• Be sure to keep any follow-up appointments.

Use medicines safely.

You may need to take antibiotics or other medicines after the procedure. Be sure to follow the instructions on when, how often, and how long you need to take your medicines.

If you are taking antibiotics:

• Take all doses of the antibiotic unless your doctor tells you to stop.
• Never share antibiotics with others.
• Safely get rid of any antibiotics that you don't use.
• Tell your doctor or nurse if you start having diarrhea.

Call your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist right away if you have any questions about your medicine – or if you are worried that your medicine is making you feel worse.

Stay up to date on your shots.

Ask your doctor about important shots (vaccines) to protect you from infections.

Protect yourself from seasonal flu.

Everyone age 6 months and older needs to get a flu vaccine every year.

Quit smoking.

Quit smoking. Patients who smoke get more infections. Talk to your doctor about how you can quit before your surgery. If you smoke, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) to make your quit plan. Get more ideas for quitting smoking.

Clean hands can protect you from serious infections while you are a patient in a healthcare facility.

What’s The Problem?

Most germs that cause serious infections in healthcare are spread by people’s actions. Hand hygiene is a great way to prevent infections. However, studies show that on average, healthcare providers clean their hands less than half of the times they should. This contributes to the spread of healthcare-associated infections that affect 1 in 31 hospital patients on any given day. Every patient is at risk of getting an infection while they are being treated for something else. Even healthcare providers are at risk of getting an infection while they are treating patients. Preventing the spread of germs is especially important in hospitals and other facilities such as dialysis centers and nursing homes.

The Clean Hands Count Campaign

CDC’s Clean Hands Count campaign aims to improve healthcare provider adherence to hand hygiene recommendations, address myths and misperceptions about hand hygiene, and empower patients to play a role in their care by asking or reminding healthcare providers to clean their hands.

• Healthcare providers might need to clean their hands as many as 100 times per 12-hour shift, depending on the number of patients and intensity of care.
• Everyone should know the truth about hand hygiene and alcohol-based hand sanitizer:
  • Alcohol-based hand sanitizer kills most of the bad germs that make you sick and is the preferred way to clean your hands in healthcare settings.
  • Alcohol-based hand sanitizer does not kill C. difficile, a common healthcare-associated infection that causes severe diarrhea. Patients with C. difficile should wash their hands with soap and water and make sure their healthcare providers always wear gloves when caring for them.
  • Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is more effective and less drying than using soap and water, and does not create antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
• Hand hygiene should be a topic of conversation between healthcare providers and patients. Healthcare providers can explain how and why they clean their hands before, after, and sometimes during patient care, and let patients know it’s ok to ask about hand hygiene.
• Patients and their visitors can protect themselves by cleaning their own hands often.

What Can Patients Do?

Clean your own hands and ask your visitors to clean theirs too.

What Can Healthcare Providers Do?

Healthcare providers should clean their hands before and after every patient contact to protect themselves as well as their patients from infections.

Infections can put you and your family at risk for a life-threatening condition called sepsis.

What’s The Problem?

Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection. Sepsis happens when an infection you already have – in your skin, lungs, urinary tract, or somewhere else – triggers a chain reaction throughout your body. It is life-threatening, and without timely treatment, sepsis can rapidly lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death.

Each year, at least 1.7 million adults in America develop sepsis, and nearly 270,000 Americans die as a result.

The Get Ahead of Sepsis Educational Effort

It’s important that patients, their families and caregivers, and healthcare professionals think about sepsis as a possibility. Get Ahead of Sepsis reminds us all of the importance of early recognition, timely treatment, and preventing infections.

• Sepsis is a medical emergency. Time matters. If you or your loved one suspects sepsis or has an infection that’s not getting better or is getting worse, ask your healthcare professional, “Could this infection be leading to sepsis?”
• Anyone can get an infection, and almost any infection can lead to sepsis. Certain people are at higher risk, including adults 65 or older; people with weakened immune systems; people with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, lung disease, cancer, and kidney disease; and children younger than one.
• A patient with sepsis might have one or more of the following signs or symptoms:
  • Confusion or disorientation
  • Shortness of breath
  • High heart rate
  • Fever, or shivering, or feeling very cold
  • Extreme pain or discomfort
  • Clammy or sweaty skin

What Can Patients Do?

Patients and their families should prevent infections, be alert to the signs and symptoms of sepsis, and seek immediate medical care if sepsis is suspected or for an infection that is not getting better or is getting worse.

• Talk to your doctor or nurse about steps you can take to prevent infections. Some steps include taking good care of chronic conditions and getting recommended vaccines.
• Practice good hygiene, such as handwashing, and keeping cuts clean and covered until healed.
• Know the signs and symptoms of sepsis.
• ACT FAST. Get medical care immediately if you suspect sepsis or have an infection that’s not getting better or is getting worse.

What Can Healthcare Professionals Do?

Get Ahead of Sepsis encourages healthcare professionals to know sepsis signs and symptoms, identify and treat patients early, act fast if they suspect sepsis, know their facility’s existing guidance for diagnosing and managing sepsis, prevent infections, and educate patients and their families. If healthcare professionals suspect sepsis, they should:

• Immediately alert the clinician in charge if it is not you.
• Start antibiotics as soon as possible, in addition to other therapies appropriate for the patient.
• Check patient progress frequently. Reassess antibiotic therapy in 24 to 48 hours to stop or adjust therapy if needed. Be sure antibiotic type, dose, and duration are correct.

Learn 10 things you can do to avoid getting an infection.

People receiving medical care sometimes develop infections so serious they may lead to sepsis or death. It can happen in any medical facility such as a hospital, outpatient clinic, dialysis center, or long-term care facility.

These are called healthcare-associated infections – and are often associated with devices used in medical procedures, such as catheters or ventilators.

Healthcare-associated infections can be caused by bacteria or fungi that are resistant to antibiotics, making them difficult to treat. Although national progress is being made to prevent these infections, there’s more to do, especially in fighting antibiotic-resistant germs. As a patient, you can help prevent the spread of infections, including antibiotic-resistant infections and improve antibiotic use.

Be informed. Be empowered. Be prepared.

Talk to your doctor about any worries you have about your safety.

Here are 10 things you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones:

1. Speak up. Talk to your doctor about any questions or worries. Ask what they’re doing to protect you.
2. Keep hands clean. Make sure everyone, including friends and family, clean their hands before touching you.
   If you don’t see your healthcare providers clean their hands, ask them to do so.
3. Ask each day if your central line catheter or urinary catheter is necessary. Leaving a catheter in place too long increases the chances you’ll get an infection. Let your doctor or nurse know immediately if the area around the central line becomes sore or red, or if the bandage falls off or looks wet or dirty.
4. Prepare for surgery. Let your doctor know about any medical problems you have. Ask your doctor how he/she prevents surgical site infections.
5. Ask your healthcare provider, “Will there be a new needle, new syringe, and a new vial for this procedure or injection?” Insist that your healthcare providers never reuse a needle or syringe on more than one patient.
6. Be Antibiotics Aware. Antibiotics only treat bacterial infections – they don’t work for viruses like the ones that cause colds and flu. Ask your healthcare provider if there are steps you can take to feel better without using antibiotics. If you’re prescribed an antibiotic, make sure to take the prescribed antibiotic exactly as your healthcare provider tells you and do not skip doses.
7. Watch out for deadly diarrhea (aka Clostridium difficile). Tell your doctor if you have 3 or more diarrhea episodes in 24 hours, especially if you’ve been taking an antibiotic.
8. Know the signs and symptoms of infection. Some skin infections, such as MRSA, appear as redness, pain, or drainage at an IV catheter site or surgery site and come with a fever. Infections can also lead to sepsis, a complication caused by the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to an infection.
9. Get Vaccinated. Getting yourself, family, friends, and caregivers vaccinated against the flu and other infections prevents spread of disease.
10. Cover your mouth and nose. When you sneeze or cough, germs can travel 3 feet or more. Use a tissue to avoid spreading germs with your hands.

Healthcare-associated Infections are not only a problem for healthcare facilities – they represent a public health issue. Many people and organizations are working together to attack these largely preventable infections. At CDC, we are committed to preventing healthcare-associated infections and making healthcare safer for everyone.

Back to the Feature Protect Your Children: Store & Use Medicines Safely

Spoons are for Soup

• Do not use household spoons to give medicines.
• Spoons come in all shapes and sizes. Using a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon can mean 3 times too much medicine for your child.

Milliliters (mL) are for Medicine

• Use the oral syringe or dosing cup that comes with your liquid medicine to make sure your child gets the right amount.
• Ask your pharmacist if you don’t have one.

To learn more, visit CDC’s Medication Safety Program website.

Top of PagePage last reviewed: February 25, 2020

Vaccine Safety

In the United States, a number of safeguards are required by law to help ensure that the vaccines we receive are safe.

The safety of vaccines is often a topic of media stories and blog postings. This attention may make you wonder, “How do we know our vaccines are safe?” Here are some important things to know about vaccine safety.

1. The safety of vaccines is thoroughly studied before they are licensed for public use.

Clinical trials are conducted to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine before it can be brought to market. Vaccines are first tested in laboratory studies and animal studies. If the results indicate the vaccine is safe, additional testing in people must be done before the vaccine can be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

2. There is a strong system in place to help scientists monitor the safety of vaccines.

Multiple systems are used to monitor the safety of vaccines after they have been licensed for public use. These systems, such as the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), and the Clinical Immunization Assessment (CISA) project, complement each other and help scientists monitor the safety of vaccines and conduct vaccine safety research.

Making sure vaccines are safe is a priority for CDC.

3. Like any medicine, vaccines can cause side effects. However, serious adverse events from vaccines are rare.

Most side effects from vaccines, such as pain and redness at the injection site, are mild and go away quickly on their own. Serious adverse events are rare. If you have questions or concerns about a vaccine, talk with your healthcare provider. Learn more about the safety of recommended vaccines.

4. Receiving combination vaccines or several different vaccines during one visit is safe and offers the quickest protection again multiple diseases.

It is safe to receive several different vaccines during one visit. Also, combination vaccines are as effective as individual vaccines.

5. You can play a role in monitoring the safety of vaccines.

Anyone can submit a report to VAERS, the vaccine safety monitoring system managed by CDC and FDA. The report of an adverse event to VAERS does not mean that a vaccine caused the event. It only indicates that the event occurred after the vaccine was administered. Proof that the event was caused by the vaccine is not required in order to send a report to VAERS.

Health officials are continuously monitoring information from many sources for any clues that a particular vaccine may cause an adverse health event.As a result, the United States has one of the best vaccine safety programs in the world.

Protect yourself and your loved ones from infections related to surgery. Having any type of surgery can be stressful. You might be asking yourself: What is the recovery process? How long will I be out of work? What do I do after leaving the hospital or surgery center?

An important question you might not have thought of is: How do I avoid getting a surgical site infection (SSI)?

A SSI is an infection patients can get during or after surgery. SSIs can happen on any part of the body where surgery takes place and can sometimes involve only the skin. Other SSIs are more serious and can involve tissues under the skin, organs, or implanted material.

These infections can make recovery from surgery more difficult because they can cause additional complications, stress, and medical cost. It is important that healthcare providers, patients and loved ones work together to prevent these infections.

What can healthcare providers do to ensure that the surgical site is clean?

• Clean their hands and arms up to the elbows with an antiseptic agent just before the surgery.
• Wear hair covers, masks, gowns, and gloves during surgery to keep the surgery area clean.
• Give you antibiotics before surgery starts when indicated.
• Clean the skin at the surgery site with a special soap that kills germs.

How can you and your loved ones prevent surgical site infections?

• Before your surgery, discuss other health problems, such as diabetes, with your doctor. These issues can affect your surgery and your treatment.
• Quit smoking. Patients who smoke get more infections.
• Follow your doctor’s instructions for cleaning your skin before your surgery. For example, if your doctor recommends using a special soap before surgery, make sure you do so.
• Avoid shaving near where you will have surgery. Shaving with a razor can irritate your skin and make it easier to develop an infection. If someone tries to shave you before surgery, ask why this is necessary.

After surgery, be sure to follow the recommendations below to protect against surgical site infection.

• Ask your provider to clean their hands before they examine you or check your wound.
• Do not allow visitors to touch the surgical wound or dressings.
• Ask family and friends to clean their hands before and after visiting you.
• Make sure you understand how to care for your wound before you leave the medical facility.
• Always clean your hands before and after caring for your wound.
• Make sure you know who to contact if you have questions or problems after you get home.
• If you have any symptoms of an infection, such as redness and pain at the surgery site, drainage, or fever, call your doctor immediately.

Be Antibiotics Aware: Smart Use, Best Care

Be Antibiotics Aware is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) national educational effort to help improve antibiotic prescribing and use and combat antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent threats to the public’s health. Antibiotic resistance happens when germs, like bacteria and fungi, develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them. That means the germs are not killed and continue to grow. More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result.

Antibiotics can save lives, but any time antibiotics are used, they can cause side effects and contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance. Each year, at least 28% of antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily in U.S. doctors’ offices and emergency rooms (ERs), which makes improving antibiotic prescribing and use a national priority.

Helping healthcare professionals improve the way they prescribe antibiotics, and improving the way we take antibiotics, helps keep us healthy now, helps fight antibiotic resistance, and ensures that these life-saving drugs will be available for future generations.

When Antibiotics Are Needed

Antibiotics are only needed for treating certain infections caused by bacteria, but even some bacterial infections get better without antibiotics. We rely on antibiotics to treat serious, life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia and sepsis, the body’s extreme response to an infection. Effective antibiotics are also needed for people who are at high risk for developing infections. Some of those at high risk for infections include patients undergoing surgery, patients with end-stage kidney disease, or patients receiving cancer therapy (chemotherapy).

When Antibiotics Aren’t Needed

Antibiotics DO NOT work on viruses, such as those that cause colds, flu, or COVID-19.

Antibiotics also are not needed for many sinus infections and some ear infections.

When antibiotics aren’t needed, they won’t help you, and the side effects could still cause harm. Common side effects of antibiotics can include:

• Rash
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Yeast infections

More serious side effects can include:

• Clostridioides difficile infection (also called difficile or C. diff), which causes severe diarrhea that can lead to severe colon damage and death
• Severe and life-threatening allergic reactions, such as wheezing, hives, shortness of breath, and anaphylaxis (which also includes feeling like your throat is closing or choking, or your voice is changing)

Antibiotic use can also lead to the development of antibiotic resistance.

What You Can Do To Feel Better

• Ask your healthcare professional about the best way to feel better while your body fights off the virus.
• If you need antibiotics, take them exactly as prescribed. Talk with your healthcare professional if you have any questions about your antibiotics.
• Talk with your healthcare professional if you develop any side effects, especially severe diarrhea, since that could be a C. diff. infection, which needs to be treated immediately.
• Do your best to stay healthy and keep others healthy:
  • Clean hands by washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze
  • Stay home when sick
  • Get recommended vaccines, such as the flu vaccine.

Put Your Medicines Up and Away and Out of Sight

About 50,000 young children end up in emergency rooms each year because they got into medicines while an adult wasn’t looking. These emergency visits can be prevented by always putting every medicine up and away and out of children’s reach and sight every time you use it.

Families take medicines and vitamins to feel well and to stay well. However, any medicine, including those you buy without a prescription, can cause harm if taken in the wrong way or by the wrong person. Practicing safe medicine storage, while at home and when on-the-go, can help keep children safe.

Protect your children. Here’s how:

Put medicines up and away and out of children’s reach and sight.

Put medicines up and away and out of children’s reach and sight.

• Children are curious and put all sorts of things in their mouths. Even if you turn your back for less than a minute, they can quickly get into things that could hurt them.
• Pick a storage place in your home that children cannot reach or see. Different families will have different places. Walk around your house and decide on the safest place to keep your medicines and vitamins.

Put medicines away every time.

• This includes medicines and vitamins you use every day. Never leave medicine out on a kitchen counter or at a sick child’s bedside, even if you have to give it again in a few hours

Always relock the cap on a medicine bottle.

Make sure the safety cap is locked.

• Always relock the cap on a medicine bottle. If the bottle has a locking cap that turns, twist it until you hear the click or cannot twist anymore.
• Remember, even though many medicines have safety caps, children may be able to open them. Every medicine must be stored up and away and out of children’s reach and sight.

Teach your children about medicine safety.

• Teach your children what medicine is and why you or a trusted adult must be the one to give it to them.
• Never tell children medicine is candy to get them to take it, even if they don’t like to take their medicine

Tell your guests about medicine safety.

• Ask family members, houseguests, and other visitors to keep purses, bags, or coats that have medicine in them up and away and out of sight when they are in your home.

Be prepared in case of an emergency.

• Call your poison control center at 800.222.1222 right away if you think your child might have gotten into a medicine or vitamin, even if you are not completely sure.
• Program the Poison Help number into your home and cell phones so you will have it when you need it.

Take Action.

• Visit the Up and Away Campaign’s to learn more about storing medicines safely while at home and when traveling with young children. Share these safe storage tips with family and friends.