The Inexpensive Action That Lowers Hospital Infections and Decreases the Flu Epidemic

Stephanie Taylor graduated from Harvard Medical School. She has a reputation for being inventive, innovative, adventurous, and most of all, persistent. She has 1,200 skydiving jumps. However, her biggest challenge came when she wanted to know why so many of the children in her hospital caught infections and the flu. Her quest for answers brought about a startling conclusion.

Taking a New Point of View

Taylor was practicing pediatric oncology when she began her quest. She watched many of her patient's contract diseases, despite the absolute best efforts of the hospital to prevent the spread of germs. How was it happening? She made a huge change, based on a hunch that the answer lies somewhere in the building itself, not the behavior of patients or staff. She went back to school for a Masters in Architecture, so she could understand the issue from a completely different perspective.

The Study

Taylor and her colleagues chose one hospital unit with 370 patients. They observed 8 million variables that included everything from the number of visitors to the frequency of handwashing. While many factors had a small impact, one stood out as being the main cause of increased infection rates. Dry air.

How It Works

How can dry air have a bigger impact than hand washing and room cleaning practices? Basically, when the air is dry, airborne germs can travel much farther and stay airborne longer. When they come into contact with a human, then they can cause infection. Dry air also lowers the body’s natural defenses, making it less able to fight off the pathogen before it can cause damage to the body.

Not Just for Hospitals

Another study followed a preschool. Half the classrooms were humidified, and half were not. The humidified classrooms had 2/3 fewer cases of flu than the non-humidified classrooms. This is remarkable. In fact, the flu shot averages to be 60% effective. Controlling humidity could be more effective than the flu shot!

What You Can Do

Hydrometers are inexpensive devices, similar to a temperature gauge, that measures humidity. Taylor recommends everyone gets one of these in their home, and use humidifiers to maintain a level between 40%-60% humidity. In addition, you can visit us at West Hartford Chiropractic in Hartford, CT. We can help you meet your wellness goals all year round.