When it comes to the cleaning department, bleach is one of the household chemicals most commonly used. Today, bleach is not only the mothers' cleaning aid but hospital staffs are also using and recommending it.
Dr. Brian Koll, the infection-control czar of the Mount Sinai Health System in New York, had trusted his grandmother when it comes to cleaning expertise. Dr. Koll stated, "My grandmother never left a crumb anywhere. There was a vigor to her cleaning-elbow grease, he says-and she relied on one product above others: bleach."
Though Dr. Koll's grandmother has gone for 28 years, he continues to live on her teachings and applying them in his current occupation. Dr. Koll, recalling his experiences making rounds at Mount Sinai Hospital said, "You can smell it (bleach), so you know that it is being used."
75,000 patients are dying every year due to antibiotic-resistant bugs causing infections which can be obtained from medical facilities that were beyond the doctor's control. Specialists have tried numerous cleaning methods to prevent the spread of bacteria and control the use of antibiotic.
One of the major benefits of using bleach is its capacity to terminate Clostridium difficile (C. diff) that stayed on table trays, bed rails and other surfaces. According to WebMD, C. diff, are bacterium that could produce harmful effects in the lining of human intestines such as toxins. Last spring, Dr. Koll released a "bleach edict"-a system wide executive memo which strongly pushed the use of bleach as a disinfectant to clean hospital units.
A 2014 report from the state health department revealed that most hospitals in New York State apply bleach to disinfect rooms for confinement where C. diff patients resided. However, reports show that only 22% of the hospitals utilize bleach usage for everyday cleaning of regular rooms. Many hospitals still trust quaternary ammonium-based cleaners or other disinfectants, in spite of the ineffective results for terminating C. difficile spores. One spoke person from Greater New York Hospital Association stated, "Hospitals are deeply committed to reducing hospital-acquired infections, and use a number of proven disinfectants as part of that battle, but whenever the presence of C. diff is suspected or confirmed, they use bleach."
