section_path: Definition and overview/Medical hygiene at home
section_name: Medical hygiene at home
paragraph_text: Medical hygiene at home
  
  Medical hygiene pertains to hygiene practices that prevent or minimize disease and the spreading of disease in relation to administering medical care to those who are infected or who are more at risk of infection in the home. Members of "at-risk" groups are cared for at home by a carer who may be a household member and who requires a good knowledge of hygiene. People with reduced immunity to infection, who are looked after at home, make up an increasing proportion of the population (as of 2009, up to 20%). The largest proportion are the elderly who have co-morbidities that reduce their immunity to infection. It also includes the very young, patients discharged from hospital, taking immuno-suppressive drugs, or using invasive systems, etc. For patients discharged from hospital, or being treated at home, special "medical hygiene" procedures may need to be performed for them, such as catheter or dressing replacement, which puts them at higher risk of infection.
  
  Antiseptics may be applied to cuts, wounds, and abrasions of the skin to prevent the entry of harmful bacteria that can cause sepsis. Day-to-day hygiene practices, other than special medical hygiene procedures, are no different for those at increased risk of infection than for other family members. The difference is that, if hygiene practices are not correctly carried out, the risk of infection is much greater.