Keeping Away The Germs

I never thought "infectious disease control" would be a big part of our life. 

Mitigating the risk of sickness is incredibly important to a "CFer." With Cystic Fibrosis, the sticky mucus in the lungs creates a breeding ground for bacterial infections.  These infections then cause inflammation and irreversible damage to the lungs, which then creates more mucus to build up. It's a vicious cycle.  Bacteria that would normally pass through a healthy persons system, may stick and grow in a CFer's system.  Because of this, keeping germs at bay and preventing infections can add years to Sienna's life.  

When we learned of Sienna's diagnosis, I turned to online forums and support groups to help educate myself.  I didn't know what we were up against and I was scared. I have learned some great tips in containing germs from these groups.  Some of these may even be helpful for non CF parents!

1.  Hand Sanitizer.  We went ahead and mounted two hand sanitizer pumps in our home.  One by our front door and the other next to the entrance of our garage.  We are slowly getting into the habit of hitting the hand sanitizer pump everytime we enter our house.  Who knows what one can pick up from a grocery cart handle, gas pump, office, etc.  I also keep small hand sanitizers in my diaper bag, car and stroller.

Hand Sanitizer at the front door.

2.  Lysol.  I have begun using Lysol wipes daily to wipe down our kitchen and surfaces.  These wipes kill specific bacteria harmful to Sienna such as pseudomonas.  I read that using these once or twice a week still allowed bacteria to grow, so daily cleaning it is!

3.  Washing Machines & Dishwashers.  Who knew these were breeding grounds for mold.  Gross huh?  I think we've cleaned our washing machine maybe once since we bought it two years ago.  We have never cleaned our dishwasher in the one year we've owned our home and I can't imagine the prior owners ever did.  Needless to say, after reading this article I knew we needed to be diligent in cleaning both of these!  We scrubbed the dishwasher with disinfectant and then ran a cycle with vinegar.  We then purchased some Cascade cleaner and ran it through.  It looks much better...but I still think a new dishwasher may be in our near future.  We bought Affresh to run through the washing machine.  Since it's been two years, I ran the cleaner through a couple of times and then wiped down.  To keep up the efforts, we are dedicating the first Sunday of every month to clean these appliances.

4.  Baby Gear.  If you are still using the bulb syringe given to you at the hospital, get rid of it now!  I saw this posted on Facebook which made me stop using ours immediately (even though I doubt it had grown mold yet!).  I bought a new nasal aspirator by Safety 1st, which can be taken apart and cleaned.  It doesn't have a really strong suction so I may look into getting an electric one as well.  I have found that saline spray really helps me clear her nasal pathway as well.

I also started a cleaning system for Sienna's bottles and pump parts.  I use a small plastic bin to collect all dirty bottles/pacis/pump parts and every other day I fill the bin with hot, soapy water and let everything soak.  I then use a bottle brush and scrub each item with more soap under hot water.  Each part is placed on our bottle drying racks from Buy Buy Baby (also sold at Target) to air dry.  Remember to change out the bottle brush often...I use a new one at least every month.

I also bought on the go wipes for pacis and other items to keep in my diaper bag. These join the hand sanitizer and wet one wipes already there!

We will continue to create good cleaning habits in our home and raise Sienna to be smart about germ control. 

*As an added disclaimer here... I fully know that Si will get sick from time to time.  She's not going to live in a bubble and neither will we.  Having colds will only help her build up her immune system and can actually benefit her in the long run as she will be able to fight sickness better.  Our fight is against Pseudos, Staph, and other harmful bacteria.