Foot Notes
This article is written on Wednesday, April 15th, 2020. The world is anxiously gripped by the ongoing spread and fear of the Covid virus, although we are all optimistic about the future trends – perhaps too optimistic. Many of us who are older and frailer are concerned about our health and mortality. Working people are concerned about the economic impact. Everyone is concerned about their own mental health.
Podiatrists as all health workers are trained in infection control. It seemed reasonable in this article to remember some of the basics.
Airborne particles can spread to other people or surfaces
So, to make sure I got this right, I researched it. This new virus is unknown, and so not totally understood. If you sneeze, and fail to cover your mouth, then the air borne particles can spread to another person (hence the two-metre distance rule: make sure you stay away from others), and to surfaces. Some particles may stay on hard, non-porous surfaces, such as computer keyboards for some time. It is not known for how long these virus particles may be active on surfaces, but it could be for days. Hence, the two-pronged approach: wash our own hands often, including the nails and fingertips. Remember to clean and disinfect surfaces.
Hand washing
I know we have all been shown. We all have been taught to hand wash longer than normal, usually accompanied by a song. (I prefer Gloria Gaynor’s rendition of “I will survive”. This is probably because I think disco is under rated.)
Cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitising
So, for information. For anyone who sees a podiatrist, as well as hand washing and wearing one use gloves, we also make sure that surfaces that will be touched by you, the patient are wiped clean with a disinfectant. This means all surfaces: arm rests, chair, door handles. The disinfectant I use is bactericidal and fungicidal.
Masks and eye protection are worn for protection of the practitioner, and you the patient.
The instruments we use go through the process: clean; removal of any particles; clean and disinfect; the instruments are put into an ultrasonic bath, which uses ionised water to agitate any smaller particles from the instrument surfaces. Finally, sanitising. The autoclaves we use are monitored to make sure they work correctly. They are like a pressure cooker: under pressure the temperature is raised to 126 degrees C or 273 degrees F. This means that the instruments will be sterilised and clean for the next person to be treated.
Patience, kindness and understanding
When there is a new, not known danger we all become very concerned for ourselves and our loved ones. Reason tells us that the situation will change, but the anxious reality doesn’t always back this up.
Be careful, and clean.
Human nature is optimistic, but this is a tough one.
Gillian Aldous is a podiatrist working at the Madison Square Orthorehab Clinic.