I had a very thorough pre admin call from RBHT arrythmia nurse this week and yet again things move on and develop.
I have previously before going in had to use Hibiscrub on the day of admission but now I have to use it for three days prior. I also have to use some ointment I have to rub up my nose for five days prior which apparently kills MRSA. Both arrived next day by post. Must do LFT the morning of procedure and take negative test strip in with me via special Covid free access door to the hospital. RBHT is one of the best in my opinion and nothing if not thorough.
As I have to be there by 7.15 am I will be staying in a hotel nearby the night before which is just as well since railway people are on strike 27th I'm told. Sam will have to drive 250miles up the day after to collect me as not allowed out alone.
Happy days.
Bob
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Glad you are pa Ning the night before… that’s a long drive after surgery…. Plan lots of pillows to make yourself as comfortable as possible perhaps.. I’m not sure what MRSA is but I’m going to go look it up….
It was an infection which caused major problems in hospitals about 10/15 years ago. I was involved in patient transport at the time and we were all required to wear protective clothing similar to that used for Covid…….
Good luck with it all! I am going to need to get back into a ‘working’ frame of mind for all these early appointments. I’m moaning enough that my echocardiogram on 27th is at 9am. I live about 30 minutes walk away. This should be perfectly do-able, what has retirement done to me!Hope you don’t need to wait for hours once you get there. My husband had an op a couple of months ago - there for 7.30, but last on list and didn’t go until 4.20. There was a bit of worry that it might be the next day.
PM is nothing like ablation, just no driving or lifting your arm for 4-5 weeks. You have my very best wishes, hope all goes very smoothly, I’m sure it will. The preamble with killing off all the bugs is the daffy bit. You’ll have no biome left so drink plenty of the good stuff in recovery. 😘
We have a skin biome as well which is what all this scrubbing with Hibiscrub is about! My hair was like straw for a fortnight after my 2 hip ops with having to wash it 2 days running with the Povidone shower stuff. I normally wash it very infrequently. Glad I didn't get the nose stuff as well. The nurses also looked all over my body to make sure I had no cuts or scratches.
That’s interesting. I thought it was well protected by the lipid layer but I guess scrubbing would remove that. Hospitals have to use antiseptics, though, so it’s likely one of those things we have to put up with.
I was reading a book a while back on the massive number of deaths in women after childbirth in the nineteenth century, thanks to the lack of basic cleanliness. It took years to get the medical establishment to accept they were the cause of the deaths. So many lost! So sad.
Yes - they drove poor Semmelweis into an asylum where he was beaten up by the jailors and died! He noticed that docs were going straight from dissecting cadavres for autopsies to delivering babies and suggested they wash their hands to avoid after childbirth fever in the mothers . They were outraged even though where it was done there was a big drop in mortality.
When my stepfather had a triple bypass in 2007 I was amazed by the lack of compliance by the doctors as they entered ICU in using the alcoholic handgel by the door . The patient visitors and nurses were much more compliant .
In a nearby hospital where an elderly friend's wife is recovering (hopefully...) from a fall, she contracted covid, but is not symptomatic (i.e. only PCR positive). He was first told he couldn't visit her for ten days, but then when he took in some clothes for her (he's 88, she is 92...), the sister said he could. They would not allow him to use his own face mask, however, an N95 version, giving him, instead, a simple surgical mask.
I am booked in for surgery on the 1st of August (if you remember my post a few months ago I had an emergency appendix op and CT scan found a problem with my bladder) had my phone pre op last week, no scrub or nose cream here in sunny East Anglia. Do have to take in a covid test taken the morning of op. Tomorrow I have to go to hospital for the pre-op bloods, urine tests plus ECG, blood pressure ect. Hope all goes well.Cassie
I too had an emergency appendix around 55 years ago and went to hospital sirens blazing and was on the operating table within 2hours of first phoning. Good luck with your surgery.
Its good that your having to take all those precautions Bob, it sounds like the hospital is really on the ball re the prevention of infections. Can't Sam take you up the day before and stay overnight too?
Good luck,I’m sure you will be fine and squeaky clean. the hibiscrub is horrid on your hair it makes it feel like straw. Leicestershire have been doing this routine apart from covid testing for about 4 years and get you to wash in the stuff while your there. But if it keep mrsa at bay it’s all good.
Yes, lots of procedures at present. Most precautionary. Latest COVID variant highly prevalent in the UK - highest numbers ever according to Zoe stats. Be prepared for other niceties on site too.Hope all goes well Bob.
Let's hope the temperatures are comfortable for you. We're in for some storming highs and London (and sunny Leicestershire, for some reason) seem to be the worst affected.
Are you having the new kind of PM with built in Bluetooth so you can ask Alexa who's at the door, and to open the garage door without the remote?
Best wishes . Hope all goes well. Ditto on the straw like hair. I only had to use povidone scrub for 2 days before hip ops and mine was like straw for a fortnight after.
All the best Bob, you will feel better protected once you have your PM on board. I’m on my second and very content to know it is monitoring me every minute. The transmittance of the records go straight to the hospital so any problems they will know about. Scrub up well, it’s not the op that is a worry as much as the dreaded MRSA that hospitals have.
You will be able to enjoy the op from the pole position as you will be wide awake but pain free and discuss notes with the surgeon.
I will be discussing that fact that I will have to take a back seat with engine testing due to possible interference from high energy ignition systems. Nothing like 20kVolts up your arm to wake you up in the morning.
Only just seen this Bob At least if you are having to be that thorough there is less likelihood of infection. What a palava though. Good luck and hope it all goes swimmingly. X
No but when I was first diagnosed in 2004 there were no EP centres down here so I had to go to London. Since then my EP Dr Jonathan Clague has continued to look after me very well.
All the best with your procedure, sounds like you're in very good hands and it's reassuring to know that they are taking infection control so seriously. Is your procedure because your Afib has returned, or because you've developed Bradycardia?
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