|
UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS
When dealing with blood or other body fluids, there are typical precautions
against unwanted and unintentional contact that all medical staff follow.
Even if you are not in a medical career yourself, learning these precautions
will be useful for situations when you don't want to run the risk of disease
transmission. These include:
1) Protective barriers - gloves, face masks, gowns, goggles, etc. If you
are allergic to latex, there are alternative materials such as Nitrile,
Polyurethane, Polyisoprene, and others. Cost will vary depending on type
of material.
2) Wash hands, thoroughly, especially after exposure.
3) Needles should not be handled by any body part.
4) Dispose of single-use (disposable) sharps in a sharps container.
5) Sterilize Nondisposable sharps before use - dry heat ovens and autoclaves
(a device similar to a pressure cooker) are recommended.
6) Clean wounds to prevent septicemia (details below.)
The following list of diseases are examples of why it's absolutely CRITICAL
you get both you and your donor tested, and why you take precautions anytime
you don't want the risk - diseases can be passed back to the donor as well
as being passed from the donor. This is not a complete list - I covered only
the fairly common disease risks, and there are likely other common ones I
missed, besides the unusual ones I haven't covered here.
HEPATITIS A
Information: Fact
Sheet -- FAQ
Transmitted by: Poor hygiene and sanitation.
Vaccine available? Yes
Preventable? Yes
Fatal? Not usually
Symptoms: Usually seen in adults more
than children - jaundice (yellowed skin), fatigue, abdominal pain, loss
of appetite, nausea, diarrhea and/or fever
Other notes: Hep A typically has no long-term
infection. Once you've had Hep A it runs it's course, you can't get it again.
Typically spread after contact with infected feces, hence the advice to always
wash your hands after using the bathroom.
HEPATITIS B
Information: Fact
Sheet -- FAQ
Transmitted by: Contact with blood or
body fluids from an infected person. While unprotected sex and needle
use often come to mind, other sources should be considered as well such
as toothbrushes, razors and other personal care items, as well as tattoo
equipment that has not been properly sterilized.
Vaccine available? Yes
Preventable? Yes
Fatal? If there's a chronic infection
- 15-25% of the time.
Symptoms: About 30% of infected people
have NO signs or symptoms. Usually seen in adults more than children
- jaundice (yellowed skin), fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite,
nausea, vomiting and/or joint pain.
Other notes: May become a chronic infection
if not treated; if it becomes chronic, death can occur in 15-25% of cases.
HEPATITIS C
Information: Fact
Sheet -- FAQ
Transmitted by: Contact with blood or
body fluids from an infected person. While unprotected sex and needle
use often come to mind, other sources should be considered as well such
as toothbrushes, razors and other personal care items, as well as tattoo
equipment that has not been properly sterilized.
Vaccine available? No
Preventable? Yes
Fatal? 1-5% fatality rate as well as the
risk of developing Hepatitis B
Symptoms: 80% of infected people have
NO symptoms. When they do show up, symptoms include jaundice, fatigue, dark
urine, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and/or nausea.
Other notes: If you have Hep C, do not
donate blood, organs or tissue - the infection will spread via organ tissues.
HEPATITIS D
Information: Fact
Sheet
Transmitted by: Contact with blood or
body fluids from an infected person. While unprotected sex and needle
use often come to mind, other sources should be considered as well such
as toothbrushes, razors and other personal care items, as well as tattoo
equipment that has not been properly sterilized.
Vaccine available? Not for Hep-D
specifically, but since Hep-D only infects patients with Hep-B, immunization
against Hep-B will also prevent Hep-D.
Preventable? Yes
Fatal? Potentially - liver transplant
may be required if disease progress is serious enough.
Symptoms: Jaundice, fatigue, abdominal
pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, joint pain and/or dark (black or
brown tea colored) urine
Other notes: May be a co-infection (occurs
simultaneously) or superinfection in people with Hep B. Liver disease more
common in this case.
HEPATITIS E
Information: Fact
Sheet
Transmitted by: Contaminated food or
water; found in feces of infected people AND animals.
Vaccine available? No
Preventable? Yes
Fatal? Unknown
Symptoms: Symptoms appear within 2 to
20 days after contact and typically includes red and sensitive skin followed
by blisters. Flu-like symptoms are common, and urination may be painful.
Other notes: A person may be contagious
without showing visible signs - not everyone gets blisters or or other typical
warning signs. Read the link for details.
HERPES
Information: Fact
Sheet Transmission Info
Transmitted by: Spread by skin to skin
contact from the site of infection. Typically this involves open sores making contact, but there are asymptomatic people who show no signs but are still contagious. This means the virus will spread without visible open sores.
Vaccine available? Not yet, but one is
in development
Preventable? Yes
Fatal? Unknown - check links for details.
Symptoms: Jaundice, fatigue, abdominal
pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and/or dark (black or brown tea colored)
urine.
Other notes: More common in developing
countries, but not impossible to find elsewhere.
HIV / AIDS
Information: FAQ
Transmitted by: Body fluid contact through
broken skin or mucous membranes. In addition, it has been passed from mother
to baby during pregnancy, delivery or breast-feeding.
Vaccine available? No, but one is in
human trials for the slow variant
Preventable? Yes
Fatal? Usually
Symptoms: HIV/AIDS symptoms can mimic
those of other diseases; the only sure way to tell is to get a test.
Symptoms may include rapid weight loss, dry cough, fever/night sweats,
unexplained fatigue, swollen lymph nods, diarrhea, severe lack of appetite,
and others.
Other notes: At least two base
forms known - one is the usual slow-acting variant most people are familiar
with, however new in late 2004/early 2005 is a variant that runs it's
entire course (including patient death) in about six (6) months. You
cannot rely on symptoms alone to establish whether or not you or someone
else has HIV/AIDS! If you need a test, call your local doctor, clinic,
or other public health center to see where you can have it done locally.
PRION DISEASES
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE / "Mad Cow Disease")
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD, vCJD, nvCJD)
Kuru (Found mostly in cannibalistic societies - not covered in this article)
Information: Fact
Sheet/BSE -- Fact
Sheet/CJD
Transmitted by: Malformed proteins (prions)
ingested in contaminated blood or meat. Blood transfusion from infection
persons. Also, eating meat that has been contaminated with the virus
in infected animals - the virus has been found in the brain, spinal
cord, retina, dorsal root ganglia (bundle of nerves at the base of the
spine), distal ileum (lower small intestines) and bone marrow, suggesting
that these represent the highest risk of transmission, and if processing
facilities are not hygienic enough, contaminated parts may come in contact
with uncontaminated parts.
Vaccine available? No
Preventable? Yes
Fatal? Yes - 100% (No cure or treatment
available)
Symptoms: BSE: Characterized by loss
of motor control, dementia, paralysis wasting and eventually death typically
following pneumonia. CJD/etc.: When symptoms begin, they start with
psychiatric or sensory abnormalities, lack of coordination (early) and
progresses to dementia and muscle spasms late in the disease.
Other notes: Besides cows, BSE and CJD/vCJD/nvCJD
have been found in elk, deer and other cloven-hoofed animals. A similar
disease called "Scrappie" is found in sheep, and is thought
to be the source of BSE in cows when animal parts are used in cattle
feed.
SEPTICEMIA / SEPTIC SHOCK
Information: Info
#1 Info #2
Transmitted by: Any pathogenic organism
(bacteria, fungi, virus) can cause septicemia and septic shock. These organisms
can enter the body through several means - the site of another infection,
surgical procedures, IV lines/needles, catheters, and physical injuries that
break the skin. Septicemia occurs about 66% of the time in hospital patients.
Vaccine available? No
Preventable? Yes
Fatal? Yes, 5-60% fatality rate
depending on complicating factors such as which invading organism it
is, and whether the immune system is compromised.
Symptoms: Most patients have fever and
chills that appear abruptly. Some may have low body temperature, rapid breathing,
changes in mental state, etc. Loss of interest in food or surroundings may
also develop. If it is being caused by meningitis bacteria, there may be a
hemorrhagic rash - clusters of tiny blood spots that look like pin pricks.
If untreated, these gradually get bigger and start to look like fresh bruises.
Other notes: This is not something to
fool around with - it's so simple to prevent by washing/cleaning any
wounds, there's no excuse for poor hygiene.
SYPHILIS
Information: Fact
Sheet
Transmitted by: Typically by sexual contact;
an open wound will spread the germ through a mucous membrane or broken
skin. It can be passed from mother to child during pregnancy.
Vaccine available? No
Preventable? Yes
Fatal? Yes, if left untreated
Symptoms: Primary stage is a sore at
the site of infection that disappears within a few weeks. Secondary stage
is a skin rash with penny-sized sores that appears 3-6 weeks after the sores
appear. The rash may heal within several weeks or months. Second stage is
contagious! If the disease is untreated and progresses to tertiary stage,
the bacteria attack the heart, eyes, brain, nervous system, bones, joints
or almost any other part of the body.
If the disease gets into the nervous system it is called neurosyphilis, and
the time from infection to developing signs can take up to 20 years.
Other notes: Syphilis increases the risk
of transmitting or acquiring HIV/AIDS by 300-500%. Symptoms can mimic those
of many other diseases, so syphilis can often get left untreated until it's
too late. Even if the disease is treated and eradicated, damage already done
to organs and body parts cannot be reversed.
This article is presented as part of an ongoing
effort to present other views outside of, as well as within, the online
vampire community. As such, the views and attitudes contained in this
article are entirely those of the author(s), and may not necessarily
be shared by SphynxCatVP. The webmaster is not under obligation to update
or otherwise keep current the contents of this article. Most
importantly, only you can decide for yourself whether this article or
any of the author(s) other views are useful or applicable to you - use
your own reasoning and judgment.
| 
