Prevent Infections When You Get Medical Care

The Basics: Overview

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 before your procedure.
• Make sure your doctors, nurses, and visitors always wash their hands.
• Carefully 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)

The good news is that patients and doctors can work together to prevent the spread of germs and the infections they cause. Learn more about preventing infections at the hospital.

The Basics: Types of Infections

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.

Get tips on preventing these common HAIs:

• Urinary tract infections [PDF - 231 KB]
• Pneumonia [PDF - 187 KB]
• Blood infections [PDF - 195 KB]
• MRSA (“MER-suh”) infections [PDF - 221 KB]
• Surgical site infections [PDF - 213 KB]
• C. diff (Clostridium difficile) infections [PDF - 183 KB]

The Basics: Signs of Infection

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: Talk with the Doctor

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

Talk with the doctor about preventing infections.

Before having surgery or getting another type of medical procedure, talk to the 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 germ-killing 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. 

If you get home and start to feel sick or notice signs of an infection, call your doctor or nurse right away.

Take Action: Hand Washing

Always make sure your doctors and nurses wash their hands.

Politely ask your doctors and nurses if their hands are clean. 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. Check out this patient’s guide to hand hygiene [PDF - 2 MB].

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 Action: Follow Instructions

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.
• Always wash your hands before touching a wound or catheter.
• Follow the instructions you get for what to do after a medical procedure.
• Be sure to keep any follow-up appointments. 
• If you have a catheter, have it removed as soon as you no longer need it.

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.

Keep taking prescription medicines until your doctor tells you it’s okay to stop, even if you are feeling better. And if you are worried that your medicine is making you feel worse, call your doctor or nurse right away. Get more tips to use medicines safely.

Take Action: Other Tips

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.

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.